Effect of the muscle nanostructure changes during post-mortem aging on tenderness of different beef breeds

Abstract

Objective: Tenderness is a very complex feature and the process of its formation is very complicated and not fully understood. Its diversification is one of the most important problems of beef production, as a result beef aging is widely used to improve tenderness as it is believed to provide a homogeneous product to consumers. While few studied have evaluated the muscle structure properties in relation to tenderness from early post-mortem, there little to no information available on how the muscle nanostructure of beef carcasses changes during post-mortem ageing to determine the appropriate aging time for acceptable tenderness. Methods: Muscle nanostructure (myofibril diameter (MYD), myofibril spacing (MYS), muscle fibre diameter (MFD), muscle fibre spacing (MFS) and sarcomere length (SL)), meat tenderness and cooking loss (CL) were measured on 20 A2 longissimus muscles of Bonsmara, Beefmaster, Hereford and Simbra at 45 mins , 1 , 3 and 7 days post-slaughter. Muscle nanostructure was measured using a scanning electron microscope, while tenderness was measured using Warner Bratzler Shear Force. Results: At 45 minutes post-slaughter, breed affected MYD and MYS only, while at 24 hrs it also affected MFD and MFS. On day 3 breed effected MFS and SL, while on day 7 breed effected tenderness only. As the muscles matured, both MYD and MYS decreased while CL increased and the muscles became tender. There was no uniformity on muscle texture features (surface structure, fibre separation, muscle contraction and relaxation) throughout the ageing period. Conclusion: Meat tenderness can be directly linked to breed related myofibril structure changes during aging in particular the myofibril diameter, spacing between myofibrils and their interaction; while the muscle fibre diameter, spacing between muscle fibres, sarcomere length and cooking loss explain the non-uniformity in beef tenderness.

Effect of Cichorium intybus on production performance, carcass quality and blood lipid profile of hybrid duck

“…High WHC will result in lower cooking losses. Meat tenderness is strongly associated with meat boiling or cooking process [ 25 ]. Chicory supplementation did not affect the meat tenderness because there was no change in the protein structure of the meat.…”

“…The WHC increased at the level of 5% and 10% chicory supplementation, but at the level of 15%, it tended to decrease. This means that 10% chicory [25]. Chicory supplementation did not affect the meat tenderness because there was no change in the protein structure of the meat.…”

Changes in the Physico-Chemical Quality of Red Meat during the Distribution of Carcasses from the Abattoir to the Retailers

“…The meat samples for the analysis of cooking loss and Warner-Bratzler shear force (WBSF) values were taken out of the fridge a day before and left to thaw at room temperature (25 • C) [21]. Immediately after thawing, the samples were weighed, labelled and placed in plastic bags and cooked in a water bath at 85 • C for 45 min [22].…”

Endoplasmic reticulum stress improved chicken tenderness, promoted apoptosis and autophagy during postmortem ageing

“…Muscles are generally stored at 0-4 °C for postmortem ageing. Postmortem ageing helps to transform inedible muscles into edible meat and is an effective way to improve meat tenderness [3] . The main reason for the increase in meat Endoplasmic reticulum stress improved chicken tenderness, promoted apoptosis and autophagy during postmortem ageing…”