Relationship between circulating levels of cortisol at slaughter and changes of some parameters of the camel meat during ageing

Abstract

Relationship between serum levels of cortisol at slaughter and changes of some parameters of meat was investigated in 50 male camels, during ageing for 10 days at 4±1°C. Blood was sampled at slaughter to determine serum levels of cortisol and oblique abdominal external muscle was collected after slaughter to analyze pH, electrical conductivity (EC), drip loss (DL), cooked loss (CL), moisture, solids, ashes, protein total, calcium (Ca), phosphorus (Pi), magnesium (Mg), sodium (Na), potassium (K), catalase activiry (CATa), malondialdehyde (MDA), shrinkage, R-value and total haem pigment (THP) at days 0 (four hours postmortem), 5 and 10 of refrigerated storage. The camels were divided into 3 groups (Gr) with different serum levels of cortisol at slaughter (low, high and very high levels): Gr1 (13.07-67.9 ng/mL, n= 24), Gr2 (80.29-107.21 ng/mL, n= 7) and Gr3 (133.7-198.04 ng/mL, n= 19). Compared to Gr1, Gr2 and Gr3 had a significant (P<0.05) increase of pH, EC, DL, CL, THP, dimensional shrinkage and MDA, and a significant (P<0.05) decrease of CATa at the 5th and 10th postmortem days. However, the bleeding efficiency, moisture, ashes, R-value and levels of Ca, Pi, Na, K and total protein showed no significant differences between twoo cortisol groups. The antemortem circulating levels of cortisol were positively correlated with postmortem pH, EC, DL, CL, THP, dimensional shrinkage and MDA, and negatively correlated with CATa. The analysis of circulating cortisol at slaughtering may predict the quality and oxidant stress status of camel meat during postmortem cold storage.

Correlation between circulating cortisol and indicators of stress and oxidant stress during the preslaughter operations in camels

“…increase in MDA levels and adecrease in CAT activity in blood (El khasmi et al, 2015;Lemrhamed et al, 2018Lemrhamed et al, , 2019 and meat (Tabite et al, 2019).…”

“…In camels, several studies have evaluated the different situations of pre-slaughter stress, such as transport (Saeb et al, 2010;El khasmi et al, 2010), transport distance (El khasmi et al, 2015), loading density during transport (Lemrhamed et al, 2018) and waiting time at the slaughterhouse (Lemrhamed et al, 2019), and whose impact of stress significantly increased lipid peroxidation, drip loss and cooking loss of camel meat (Tabite et al, 2019). However, to our knowledge and so far, in the same species, other stress situations before slaughter have not been studied, such as the duration of waiting before loading, loading, unloading, water and food deprivation, and accompaniment to the slaughter room.…”

“…High circulating levels of cortisol (COR), the most used indicator of stress, have been reported in camels exposed to different stressful situations (Saeb et al, 2010;El khasmi et al, 2010El khasmi et al, , 2015Lemrhamed et al, 2018Lemrhamed et al, , 2019Tabite et al, 2019, Mohamed et al, 2021. In addition, oxidative stress sets in when the body becomes unable to fight against the overproduction of free radicals or reactive oxygen species (Agarwal et al, 2005), following a deficiency in enzymatic (catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase) and non-enzymatic antioxidants (Lykkesfeldt & Svendsen, 2007).…”

Effect of three different lairage times (0, 18 and 24 hours) on meat quality parameters in camels

“…The pre-slaughter period is as stressful for animals as the slaughter procedure itself (Dalla Costa et al 2019;Clariget et al 2021). Prior to slaughter, like other animal species, camels might experience various types of stressors that can compromise their welfare and final product quality (Tabite et al 2019;El Khasmi 2024). Pre-slaughter stress is the culmination of a number of stressors, including transportation, novelty (new surroundings), fasting, loading, unloading, and stock density (El Khasmi et al 2015).…”

“…Pre-slaughter stress is the culmination of a number of stressors, including transportation, novelty (new surroundings), fasting, loading, unloading, and stock density (El Khasmi et al 2015). Several studies have been undertaken to ascertain the impact of the pre-slaughter stress on camel welfare and the quality of their meat (Barka et al 2016;Lemrhamed et al 2018;Tabite et al 2019).…”