Difference in tenderness and pH decline between water buffalo meat and beef during postmortem aging
Issue Date
3-2007
Abstract
The objective of this research was to determine the difference in tenderness and some characteristics of water buffalo meat and beef during postmortem aging. Five female crossbred water-buffalo (Philippine Carabao × Bulgarian Murrah) and five female crossbred cattle (Brahman × Philippine Native), were finished on the same diet for 6 months and slaughtered at 30 months of age. The muscle pH was measured at 40 min, 3 h, 7 h, 24 h, and 48 h postmortem. Longissimus thoracis (LT) and semimembranosus (SM) muscles were excised at 2 d postmortem, and shear force was measured at 2, 4, 7, and 14 d postmortem. Glycogen and lactate concentrations were determined from 0, 2, and 4 d LT samples, and myosin heavy chain type of buffalo and cattle LT was determined by ELISA methods. Myofibrillar protein degradation was also observed by SDS-PAGE and Western blotting of fast-type troponin T. Results showed that the buffalo meat had significantly lower shear force values compared to beef for LT and SM muscles, which was supported by a difference in troponin T degradation. Postmortem pH decline of buffalo meat was significantly slower than that of beef, which was confirmed by lactic acid concentrations, but was not explained by glycogen content. In addition, there was no significant difference in the ratio of slow to fast type muscle fibers in buffalo and cattle, indicating that myosin heavy chain type was not responsible for the difference in pH decline and tenderness between the buffalo meat and beef. This study demonstrated that the tenderness of water buffalo meat was superior to that of Brahman beef, which may have been due to the difference in pH decline and the subsequent effect on muscle protease activity. © 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Source or Periodical Title
Meat Science
ISSN
3091740
Volume
75
Issue
3
Page
499-505
Document Type
Article
Language
English
Subject
Buffalo, Glycogen, Lactic acid, Myosin heavy chain, pH decline, Tenderness, Troponin T
Recommended Citation
Neath KE, Del Barrio AN, Lapitan RM, Herrera JR, Cruz LC, Fujihara T, Muroya S, Chikuni K, Hirabayashi M, Kanai Y. Difference in tenderness and pH decline between water buffalo meat and beef during postmortem aging. Meat Sci. 2007 Mar;75(3):499-505
Identifier
DOI: 10.1016/j.meatsci.2006.08.016
Digital Copy
YES