Tenderness and oxidative stability of post-mortem muscles from mature cows of various ages

Youling L. Xiong, Oliver E. Mullins, John F. Stika, Jie Chen, Sue P. Blanchard, William G. Moody

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

61 Scopus citations

Abstract

Two experiments were conducted to investigate the influence of age of mature cows (2-4 yr, 6-8 yr, and 10-12 yr cows; n = 6 in each) on beef quality. In Experiment 1, Longissimus dorsi (LD) steaks were stored at 3 °C for 0-10 d. Steaks from more mature cows had an increased (P < 0.05) Warner-Bratzler shear force (WBSF) and a slower troponin-T post-mortem degradation. Storage reduced WBSF in all steak samples regardless of animal age. In Experiment 2, Semitendinosus (ST) and Semimembranosus (SM) patties were stored at 3 °C for 0-7 d simulating retail display. The rate of lipid oxidation during storage increased with animal age (P < 0.05) and was greater in ST than in SM patties. However, myoglobin oxidation was minimally affected by animal age. Thus, advanced maturation not only intensified cow meat toughness but also lowered its oxidative stability.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)105-113
Number of pages9
JournalMeat Science
Volume77
Issue number1 SPEC. ISS.
DOIs
StatePublished - Sep 2007

Keywords

  • Beef
  • Cow
  • Lipid oxidation
  • Myoglobin
  • Proteolysis
  • Tenderness

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Food Science

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