Reactive oxygen species and evaluation of the quality of carcasses and beef meat from cold storage slaughterhouses located in the Federal District and Surroundings (Brazil)

Leite, T. R.; Zago de Sousa, C. M.; Narciso de Souza, P. E.; Veiga de Souza, F. H.; Picao Goncalves, V. S.; Arrais de Alenca, A. L.; Racanicci, A. M. C.; Santana, A. P.

doi:10.1101/490342

bioRxiv · 10.1101/490342

Reactive oxygen species and evaluation of the quality of carcasses and beef meat from cold storage slaughterhouses located in the Federal District and Surroundings (Brazil)

Leite, T. R.·Zago de Sousa, C. M.·Narciso de Souza, P. E.·Veiga de Souza, F. H.·Picao Goncalves, V. S.·Arrais de Alenca, A. L.·Racanicci, A. M. C.·Santana, A. P.

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Abstract

The aim of this study was to detect reactive oxygen species and evaluate the quality of carcasses and beef meat from cold storage slaughterhouses located in the Federal District and Surroundings. Information was obtained on the gender, breed and age of each animal, as well as the distance travelled (km) and time (h) from the property to the cold storage slaughterhouse. Data and samples were obtained from a total of 33 animals and their respective carcasses. Fragments of the extensor carpi radialis muscle were extracted from all the carcasses to analyze the presence of reactive oxygen species (ROS), and- samples of the Longissimus dorsi muscle to perform the 24h post-mortem pH, colorimetric test, cooking loss and drip loss assessment and to measure the shear force. The presence of hematomas was detected in 28 carcasses, where the tail and croup (17/33) and flank (17/33) regions were the most affected. The electron paramagnetic resonance indicated an average of 52.59 ROS/g in the analyzed pieces. The meat quality tests indicated averages of: 5.8 for the 24h postmortem pH, L*29.34, a* 2.52 and b* 1.31 in calorimetry, 2.30 kg/f for the shearing force, 11.75% of cooking losses and 1.88% of drip losses. The statistical analyses demonstrated a tendency- to positive correlation between the presence of hematomas with and the amount of ROS, and between the presence of hematomas and pH value. Furthermore, statistically, female gender was one of the influential factors on the tenderness value. According to the results, it was concluded that the meat evaluated in this study meets the desirable quality parameters and it was possible to detect reactive oxygen species in the samples of muscle tissue.

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Leite, T. R., Zago de Sousa, C. M., Narciso de Souza, P. E., Veiga de Souza, F. H., Picao Goncalves, V. S., Arrais de Alenca, A. L., Racanicci, A. M. C., Santana, A. P.. 2018-12-07. Reactive oxygen species and evaluation of the quality of carcasses and beef meat from cold storage slaughterhouses located in the Federal District and Surroundings (Brazil). https://doi.org/10.1101/490342

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