Effect of gender on collagen profile and tenderness of infraspinatus and semimembranosus muscles of Polish Holstein-Friesian x Limousine crossbred cattle

Abstract

The aim of the study was to evaluate the effect of gender of young Polish Holstein-Friesian x Limousine crossbred cattle on collagen profile, tenderness and sensorial quality of infraspinatus (INF) and semimembranosus (SEM) muscles. The experiment was carried out using bulls (n=8), steers (n=8) and heifers (n=8) produced in a semi-intensive system. Bulls and steers showed higher body weight at the end of fattening than heifers (P<0.01). The animal gender did not influence cooking loss of muscles and shear force values of SEM roasts, whereas bulls INF muscles had lower (P<0.01) shear force values than heifers and steers. Bulls had a higher amount of total and insoluble collagen and a lower amount of total soluble collagen than steers. Water soluble collagen in INF muscle was higher for bulls than heifers and steers, whereas acid soluble collagen was lower for bulls than for steers and heifers. Animal gender did not influence any of the sensorial attributes of SEM muscle. INF muscles from bulls were scored higher for tenderness, juiciness and overall acceptability (P<0.01, P<0.05 and P<0.05, respectively) than heifers. Since roasts prepared from meat originated from young bulls, heifers and steers of the Polish Holstein-Friesian x Limousine crossbreed were highly scored, it can be concluded that the crossbreed can be used to produce culinary beef of high eating quality.