• Animal Bioscience
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• v.36 no.3
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• pp.506-520
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• 2023

Objective: Japanese Brown (JBR) cattle, especially the Kochi (Tosa) pedigree (JBRT), is a local breed of moderately marbled beef. Despite the increasing demand, the interbreed differences in muscle metabolites from the highly marbled Japanese Black (JBL) beef remain poorly understood. We aimed to determine flavor-related metabolites and postmortem metabolisms characteristic to JBRT beef in comparison with JBL beef. Methods: Lean portions of the longissimus thoracis (loin) muscle from four JBRT cattle were collected at 0, 1, and 14 d postmortem. The muscle metabolomic profiles were analyzed using capillary electrophoresis time-of-flight mass spectrometry. The difference in post-mortem metabolisms and aged muscle metabolites were analyzed by statistical and bioinformatic analyses between JBRT (n = 12) and JBL cattle (n = 6). Results: A total of 240 metabolite annotations were obtained from the detected signals of the JBRT muscle samples. Principal component analysis separated the beef samples into three different aging point groups. According to metabolite set enrichment analysis, post-mortem metabolic changes were associated with the metabolism of pyrimidine, nicotinate and nicotinamide, purine, pyruvate, thiamine, amino sugar, and fatty acid; citric acid cycle; and pentose phosphate pathway as well as various amino acids and mitochondrial fatty acid metabolism. The aged JBRT beef showed higher ultimate pH and lower lactate content than aged JBL beef, suggesting the lower glycolytic activity in postmortem JBRT muscle. JBRT beef was distinguished from JBL beef by significantly different compounds, including choline, amino acids, uridine monophosphate, inosine 5'-monophosphate, fructose 1,6-diphosphate, and betaine, suggesting interbreed differences in the accumulation of nucleotide monophosphate, glutathione metabolism, and phospholipid metabolism. Conclusion: Glycolysis, purine metabolism, fatty acid catabolism, and protein degradation were the most common pathways in beef during postmortem aging. The differentially expressed metabolites and the relevant metabolisms in JBRT beef may contribute to the development of a characteristic flavor.

• Animal Bioscience
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• v.36 no.2_spc
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• pp.374-384
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• 2023

Skeletal muscle metabolism regulates homeostatic balance in animals. The metabolic impact persists even after farm animal skeletal muscle is converted to edible meat through postmortem rigor mortis and aging. Muscle metabolites resulting from animal growth and postmortem storage have a significant impact on meat quality, including flavor and color. Metabolomics studies of postmortem muscle aging have identified metabolisms that contain signatures inherent to muscle properties and the altered metabolites by physiological adaptation, with glycolysis as the pivotal metabolism in postmortem aging. Metabolomics has also played a role in mining relevant postmortem metabolisms and pathways, such as the citrate cycle and mitochondrial metabolism. This leads to a deeper understanding of the mechanisms underlying the generation of key compounds that are associated with meat quality. Genetic background, feeding strategy, and muscle type primarily determine skeletal muscle properties in live animals and affect post-mortem muscle metabolism. With comprehensive metabolite detection, metabolomics is also beneficial for exploring biomarker candidates that could be useful to monitor meat production and predict the quality traits. The present review focuses on advances in farm animal muscle metabolomics, especially postmortem muscle metabolism associated with genetic factors and muscle type.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.111-116
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• 2002

This study investigated quantitative changes in the spaces between and within myofibrils and the impact of high and low voltage electrical stimulation on muscle ultrastructure as seen in electron micrographs. In addition, the relationships of these spaces and the impact to meat tenderness were investigated. The degradation of myofibrils during aging appeared to be localized across the muscle fibre. Structural deterioration of muscle fibres was evident 1 day post-mortem, involving the weakening in the lateral integrity of the myofibrils and Z-disc regions. Meat tenderisation, as shown by objective measurements, coincided with these increases in degradation, as assessed by the sum of the gaps between and within myofibrils. The results showed that the total size of gaps between and within myofibrils can be used as an indicator of meat tenderization during aging, but that ultrastructural alteration in electrically stimulated muscle had little relationship with meat tenderness.

• Food Science of Animal Resources
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.97-106
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• 1998

Antioxidant enzymes such as catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) are known to inhibit oxidative reactions by incativating compounds responsible for the formation of ree radicals. SOD transforms superoxide radical into hydrogen peroxide which is precursor to active free radicals. CAT reduces hydrogen peroxide to water. GSH-Px reduces hydroperoxides to corresponding alcohols. Antioxidant enzyme activities of muscle are different by animal species age, stress and exercise, muscle type and part, conditions of post mortem, storage and processing which are related to oxidative deterioration I muscle foods as well as oxidative defence in living systems. Antioxidant enzyme systems are enhanced rather than weakened in aging skeletal muscle. Red muscle contains higher antioxidant enzyme activity than white muscle. The antioxidant enzyme activities of poultry are higher in leg than in breast, and those of beef are higher in redder and more unstable muscles. It is clear that the effectiveness of the antioxidant enzyme in muscle foods seems to be influenced by meat processing operations. Both GSH-Px and CAT are inactivated by heat processing NaCl also influence the efficiency of the antioxident enzymes since its presence diminishes their catalyitc activity.

• Food Science of Animal Resources
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.222-227
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• 2002

Efficacy of submersion aging in chilled water of vacuum-packed Hanwoo beef was investigated. At 24 hours post-mortem, the somimemebranosus portion of Hanwoo carcass was excised and sliced (2.5cm, thickness). After beef core samples(6$\textrm{cm}^2$${\times}$2cm) were prepared and vacuum packed, the samples were randomly assigned to the four treatments which were conventional refrigerator at 4$^{\circ}C$(control), conventional refrigerator at 1$^{\circ}C$(T1), submersion in chilled water at 4$^{\circ}C$(T2) and submersion in chilled water at 1$^{\circ}C$(T3). Samples were stored for 3, 7, 10 and 14 days to measure meat color(CIE L*, a*, b*), deoxymyoglobin, oxymyoglobin and metmyoglobin percentage, thiobarbituric acid reactive substance (TBARS) value, purge loss(%) and total heam pigment content. CIE a* value of samples was not significantly changed by treatment during the storage. However, metmyoglobin content of T2 samples was significantly (p<0.05) lower than those of control and T1,T3 during storage. Also, TBARS value of T3 samples was significantly (p<0.05) lower than those of control and T2 samples. T3 showed the lowest purge loss%, whereas control remarked the highest purge loss(%). Total heam pigment of all samples were not significantly changed during the storage. These results suggested that submersion aging in chilled water could keep the myoglobin stability and reduce lipid oxidation and purge loss of vacuum packed beef during storage.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.1005-1010
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• 1999

To study the shortening of rigor mortis and changes in the morphological properties of gamma-irradiated pre-rigor bovine muscle (M). Sternomandibularis during post mortem, this experiment was performed with a test of shear force and the observation of the ultrastucture of raw muscle. The time elapsed until maximum shear force values was shortened by gamma irradiation, depending upon the dose. The release of rigor mortis started earlier than control (non-irradiated muscle). A shortening of the length of the Z-line and the maintenance of the sarcomere length by gamma irradiation was observed. The breakdown of the perimysium of muscle bundles was observed more in irradiated samples than in the control. In conclusion, it is considered that gamma irradiation on pre-rigor beef shortens aging-period, improves tenderness and enhances the beef quality.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.252-257
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• 1993

Nine Korean native cattle were purchased from a beef cattle farm. Immediatly after slaughtering and skinning, each carcass was split into left and right sides and the one half was kept as a control, the other one was electrically stimulated by using 400v stimulator for 1 min. All samples were analyzed for shear force value, ATP and biochemical changes to investigate the effect of electrical stimulation during storage at $5^{\circ}C\;and\;15^{\circ}C$. The amount of lactate of electrically stimulated (E.S.) meat showed a rapid increment compared with that of control (p<0.01). E.S. treatment caused a rapid drop of pH value. Initial pH decreased from 6.85 to 6.38 in M. semitendinosus and from 7.0 to 6.58 in Triceps brachii by E.S. treatment (p<0.01). Electrically stimulated muscle showed decrease (34.67%) in ATP to $5.74{\mu}mole/g$ from $8.78{\mu}mole/g$ of unstimulated meat. ATP of the electrically stimulated muscle stored at $15^{\circ}C$ and $5^{\circ}C$ was degraded faster than that of control until 6 hours post-mortem (p<0.05). The tenderness of meat after aging was improved significantly by electrical stimulation with lower shear force value than that of untreated meat (p<0.01).