Color attributes and oxidative stability of longissimus lumborum and psoas major muscles from Nellore bulls

• Published in: Meat science Vol. 121; pp. 19 - 26
• Main Authors: Canto, Anna C.V.C.S., Costa-Lima, Bruno R.C., Suman, Surendranath P., Monteiro, Maria Lucia G., Viana, Fernanda M., Salim, Ana Paula A.A., Nair, Mahesh N., Silva, Teofilo J.P., Conte-Junior, Carlos A.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Elsevier Ltd 01-11-2016
• Subjects: Animals; Beef color stability; Bos indicus; Cattle; Color; Food Storage; Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; Lipid Metabolism; Longissimus lumborum; Male; Metmyoglobin - analysis; Muscle Proteins - chemistry; Muscle, Skeletal - chemistry; Muscle-specificity; Myoglobin - analysis; Oxidation; Oxidative Stress; Psoas major; Red Meat; Refrigeration; Thiobarbituric Acid Reactive Substances - analysis; Beef color stability; Bos indicus; Oxidation; Muscle-specificity; Psoas major; Longissimus lumborum
• ISSN: 0309-1740; 1873-4138
• DOI: 10.1016/j.meatsci.2016.05.015

The influence of muscle source on color stability of fresh beef from purebred Bos indicus cattle was investigated. Longissimus lumborum (LL) and psoas major (PM) muscles obtained from twelve (n=12) Nellore bull carcasses (24h post-mortem) were fabricated into 2.54-cm steaks, aerobically packaged, and stored at 4°C for nine days. Steaks were analyzed on day 0 for proximate composition and myoglobin concentration, whereas pH, instrumental color, metmyoglobin reducing activity (MRA), lipid oxidation, and protein oxidation were evaluated on days 0, 3, 6, and 9. LL steaks exhibited greater (P<0.05) redness, color stability, and MRA than PM counterparts. On the other hand, PM steaks demonstrated greater (P<0.05) myoglobin content, lipid oxidation, and protein oxidation than LL steaks. These results indicated the critical influence of muscle source on discoloration of fresh beef from Bos indicus animals and suggested the necessity to engineer muscle-specific strategies to improve color stability and marketability of beef from Bos indicus cattle.
•Influence of muscle source on color of steaks from Bos indicus cattle was studied.•Longissimus lumborum (LL) and psoas major (PM) from Nellore bulls were examined.•LL steaks exhibited greater redness and color stability than PM steaks.•PM steaks demonstrated lower oxidative stability than their LL counterparts.•Beef discoloration in Bos indicus cattle is muscle-specific.