• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.15 no.12
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• pp.1677-1679
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• 2002

This experiment was carried out to evaluate the tenderness of meat and it''s correlation with other carcass traits of Hanwoo steers. The significantly (p<0.01) higher mastication and shearing were observed in boiled meat than in the raw meat but the coefficient of variations were greater in raw meat than in boiled meat. The correlation between raw and boiled meat for shearing and penetration were positive and significant (p<0.01). Negative and significant correlations were observed between mastication and eye muscle area (p<0.05) and also between shearing and cooking loss (p<0.01) in raw meat whereas, penetration in raw meat was positively and significantly (p<0.05) correlated with age of the steers. Shearing in boiled meat negatively and significantly correlated with age (p<0.05), carcass weight (p<0.01), back fat thickness (p<0.01) as well as muscle score (p<0.01). The pH was not significantly correlated with tenderness in both raw and boiled meat. There were possibilities that the tenderness of boiled meat could be predicted from the raw meat.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
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• v.65 no.6
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• pp.1151-1168
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• 2023

Tenderness and taste characteristics of meat are the key determinants of the meat choices of consumers. This review summarizes the contemporary research on the molecular mechanisms by which postmortem aging of meat improves the tenderness and taste characteristics. The fundamental mechanism by which postmortem aging improves the tenderness of meat involves the operation of the calpain system due to apoptosis, resulting in proteolytic enzyme-induced degradation of cytoskeletal myofibrillar proteins. The improvement of taste characteristics by postmortem aging is mainly explained by the increase in the content of taste-related peptides, free amino acids, and nucleotides produced by increased hydrolysis activity. This review improves our understanding of the published research on tenderness and taste characteristics of meat and provides insights to improve these attributes of meat through postmortem aging.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
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• v.65 no.2
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• pp.311-323
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• 2023

Beef consumers valued meat quality traits such as texture, tenderness, juiciness, flavor, and meat color that determining consumers' purchasing decision. Most research on meat quality has focused on marbling, a key characteristic related to meat eating quality. However, other important traits such as meat texture, tenderness, and color have not much studied in cattle. Among these traits, meat tenderness and texture of cattle are among the most important factors affecting quality evaluation of consumers. Collagen is the main component of connective tissues.It greatly affects meat tenderness. The objective of this study was to determine significant variants and candidate genes associated with collagen contents trait (total collagen) through genome-wide association studies (GWAS). Phenotypic and genomic data from 135 Hanwoo were used. The BLUPF90 family program and GRAMMAR method for GWAS were applied in this study. A total of 73 potential single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) showed significant associations with collagen content. They were located in or near 108 candidate genes. TMEM135 and ME3 genes were identified to have the most significant SNPs associated with collagen contents trait. Data indicated that these genes were related to collagen. Biological processes and pathways for the prediction of biological functions of candidate genes were confirmed. We found that candidate genes were involved in positive regulation of CREB transcription factor activity and actin cytoskeleton related to tenderness and texture of beef. Three genes (CRTC3, MYO1C and MYLK4) belonging to these biological functions were related to tenderness. These results provide a basis for improving genomic characteristics of Hanwoo for the production of tender beef. Furthermore, they could be used they could be used as an index to select desired traits for consumers.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.443-454
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• 2013

Tenderness is the most important meat quality trait, which is determined by intracellular environment and extracellular matrix. Particularly, specific protein degradation and protein modification can disrupt the architecture and integrity of muscle cells so that improves the meat tenderness. Endogenous proteolytic systems are responsible for modifying proteinases as well as the meat tenderization. Abundant evidence has testified that calpains (CAPNs) including calpain I (CAPN1) and calpastatin (CAST) have the closest relationship with tenderness in livestock. They are involved in a wide range of physiological processes including muscle growth and differentiation, pathological conditions and post-mortem meat aging. Whereas, Calpain3 (CAPN3) has been established as an important activating enzyme specifically expressed in livestock's skeletal muscle, but its role in domestic animals meat tenderization remains controversial. In this review, we summarize the role of CAPN1, calpain II (CAPN2) and CAST in post-mortem meat tenderization, and analyse the relationship between CAPN3 and tenderness in domestic animals. Besides, the possible mechanism affecting post-mortem meat aging and improving meat tenderization, and current possible causes responsible for divergence (whether CAPN3 contributes to animal meat tenderization or not) are inferred. Only the possible mechanism of CAPN3 in meat tenderization has been confirmed, while its exact role still needs to be studied further.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
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• v.65 no.4
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• pp.865-877
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• 2023

Thirty Hanwoo cattle including bulls, cows, and steers (n = 10 each) were slaughtered and investigated for carcass traits (weight, meat color, fat color, yield index, maturity, marbling score, back-fat thickness, and firmness) and meat quality. The meat quality such as: pH, color, cooking loss, fatty acid, thiobarbituric acid reactive substance, warner-bratzler shear force, tensile tests, and texture profiles were analyzed on longissimus lumborum (LL) muscles of the carcasses at different aging times (3 d and 21 d). The results showed that steers and cows had higher back-fat thickness and marbling score, and a lower firmness (p < 0.001) than bulls. Bulls exhibited a lower meat quality indicating by higher cooking loss, thiobarbituric acid reactive substance content, warner-bratzler shear force and tensile test values (p < 0.01). Regarding the sensory property, the bull meat also had higher hardness, and lower tenderness, juiciness and flavor scores than the cow or steer meat (p < 0.01). Additionally, the bull meat had a higher polyunsaturated fatty acid and a lower monounsaturated fatty acid contents (p < 0.01). With increased aging time, the meat tenderness was improved in all the genders. Taken together, the present study demonstrated that the gender and aging time affected the carcass traits, fatty acid and sensory quality of beef. Postmortem aging could improve the meat tenderness of all genders especially bulls.

• Animal Bioscience
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• v.36 no.9
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• pp.1314-1326
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• 2023

Sheep and goats can efficiently convert low quality forage into high-quality meat which contains specific nutrients and quality traits. Carcass traits and quality attributes of sheep and goat meat depend upon several factors and one of most effective strategies amongst these is feeding regimens. In this review, the major aspects of feeding regimens affecting growth rate, carcass traits and quality attributes of sheep and goat meat are thoroughly discussed, with a particular focus on physical-chemical composition, flavor profile, and fatty acid (FA) profile. Grazing lambs and kids receiving concentrate or under stall-feeding systems had greater average daily gain and carcass yield compared with animals reared on pasture only. However, growth rate was higher in lambs/kids grazing on pastures of improved quality. Moreover, the meat of grazing lambs receiving concentrate had more intense flavor, intramuscular fat (IMF) content, and unhealthy FA composition, but comparable color, tenderness, juiciness, and protein content compared to that of lambs grazed on grass only. In contrast, meat of concentrate-fed lambs had more intense color, greater tenderness and juiciness, IMF and protein contents, and lower flavor linked to meat. Additionally, the meat of kids grazed on concentrate supplementation had higher color coordinates, tenderness, IMF content and unhealthy FA composition, whereas juiciness and flavor protein content were similar. In contrast, kids with concentrate supplementation had superior color coordinates, juiciness, IMF content and unhealthy FA composition, but lower tenderness and flavor intensity compared to pasture-grazed kids. Thus, indoor-finished or supplemented grazing sheep/goats had higher growth rate and carcass quality, higher IMF content and unhealthy FA composition compared to animals grazed on grass only. Finally, supplementation with concentrate increased flavor intensity in lamb meat, and improved color and tenderness in kid meat, whereas indoor-fed sheep/goats had improved color and juiciness as well as reduced flavor compared to pasture-grazed animals.

• 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.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.15 no.11
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• pp.1653-1658
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• 2002

The objectives of this study were to examine calpain activity and meat tenderness by three different feeding patterns in Korean native cattle (KNC). Total forty-five animals were assigned each fifteen in long term restriction feeding (LTFR), long-term restriction feeding and hormone treatment (LTFR-tH), and short term non-restriction feeding (STFNR), respectively. Concentrate was restricted based on body weight in exp 1 and 2. However, it was fed ad libitum in exp. 3. Hormonal implantation was made with $M-PO^{TM}$ for bulls and with $F-TO^{TM}$ for heifers at 18, 20, 22 months of age in exp. 2. Animals were purchased (3-5 month old) from local cattle market and managed in two local farms and university research unit at three different years. Animals were slaughtered at 24 months for long-term trial and at 18 month for short term-trial. Loin and tender loin muscle was used for calpain activity and meat quality. Calpain proteolytic system was not changed by treatment. However, calpastatin activity was low in short-term trial. The calpain and calpastatin activity is reciprocal relationship, therefore, the high calpain activity may effect on quality grade. The shear force value was decreased as the processing of aging after postmortem. On the other hand, the cooking loss was significantly higher in short-term than in long-term trial, and then gradually decreased by the aging. Hormone implants to increase meat yield influenced to calpastatin activity more powerfully than calpain activity to meat tenderness. In meat color-a*, there was not significant difference in loin. Meat color-b* was decreased as postmortem aging time increased in tenderloin. Western blots were done to learn whether these proteins are degraded during postmortem storage and whether this degradation temporally parallels the decrease of shear force value. Vinculin was detected at 0 day and 1 day and degraded after 3 day. In conclusion, Calpain activity was affected slightly on meat tenderness. But meat tenderness was influenced by calpastatin, more effectively.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.9-16
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• 2011

The calpain I (CAPN1) gene is an important marker for meat tenderness and marbling score in the bovine, but there were no studies to determine whether the CAPN1 gene had an association with other meat quality traits. In this study, we examined the relation between genetic polymorphisms of the CAPN1 gene and some meat quality traits in Yanbian Yellow Cattle of China. By PCRSSCP and gene sequencing in 321 unrelated Yanbian yellow cattle, twenty seven single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were detected in CAPN1, two existed SNPs in exon 8 and exon 17 resulted in the change of AA at F311S and M599V, respectively, and the otherpolymorphisms were at intron 7, 8, 14, 16 and 17. There were different preponderant genotypes at the corresponding gene locus and all genotypes were not associated with tenderness but other meat traits. This is the first study of the relationship between CAPN1 and meat quality besides tenderness in Yanbian yellow cattle of China.

• Korean journal of food and cookery science
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.367-371
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• 2000

In order to study the tenderizing effect of proteolytic enzymes in fruits, beef(M. semimembranosus) was marinated with meat sauce containing each fruit juices. After cooking, the shear force was measured by Rheometer and evaluated the sensory properties of beef by quantitative descriptive analysis method. The results are as follows: 1. The combination ratio of meat sauce:water was 2:1 with pH 5.0∼5.5 showed the max. tenderness. 2. As a result of shear force test, the decrease of shear force was pineapple>papaya>fig>kiwifruit>pear: especially, pineapple, papaya and fig tendered the beef significantly comparing with pear and kiwifruit at p<0.001. 3. The tendering effect of pineapple and papaya on the meat showed significant difference (p<0.01) comparing with pear in tenderness and overall acceptability by sensory evaluation; and there was a significant difference between pear and papaya in taste (p<0.05). 4. There was highly significant correlation between mechanical tenderness and sensory properties: correlation of fruit and mechanical tenderness was -.877(p<0.01); between mechanical tenderness and overall acceptability, r = .532(p<0.01); between fruit and sensory tenderness, r = .495(p<0.01); between mechanical tenderness and sensory tenderness, r = .490(p<0.01). At p<0.05, between taste and juiciness, r = .208.