Effect of Wet Aging on Color Stability, Tenderness, and Sensory Attributes of Longissimus lumborum and Gluteus medius Muscles from Water Buffalo Bulls.

Muhammad Hayat Jaspal,Abdur Rahman,Osama Bin Amjad,Muawuz Ijaz,Kashif Nauman,Adeel Manzoor,Bilal Asghar,Iftikhar Hussain Badar,Um Ul Wara,Muhammad Kashif Yar,Sher Ali,Jamal Nasir

doi:10.3390/ani11082248

Abstract

Simple SummaryThe water buffalo is found in many tropical countries worldwide. In the current world scenario, where meeting the protein requirements of the population is one of the biggest future challenges, buffalo meat could be a good source of protein and other nutrients. Currently, very little information is available regarding buffalo meat quality attributes. Therefore, this study was designed to evaluate the effects of aging time and muscle type on meat quality attributes (pH, color, tenderness, water holding capacity, and sensory acceptance) of buffalo meat. The results showed that color, tenderness, and sensory attributes were improved with aging time; the suitable aging time required to enhance meat quality attributes in Longissimus lumborum and Gluteus medius muscles is 28 and 21 days, respectively.The present study aimed to investigate the effect of wet aging on meat quality characteristics of Longissimus lumborum (LL) and Gluteus medius (GM) muscles of buffalo bulls. Meat samples from six aging periods, i.e., 0 day (d) = control, 7 d, 14 d, 21 d, 28 d, and 35 d, were evaluated for pH, color, metmyoglobin content (MetMb%), cooking loss, water holding capacity (WHC), myofibrillar fragmentation index (MFI), Warner–Bratzler shear force (WBSF), and sensory evaluation. The pH, instrumental color redness (a *), yellowness (b *), chroma (C *), and MetMb% values were increased, while the lightness (L *) and hue angle (h *) values showed non-significant (p > 0.05) differences in both LL and GM muscles in all aging periods. The cooking loss increased while WHC decreased till 35 days of aging. MFI values significantly (p < 0.05) increased, while WBSF values decreased; in addition, sensory characteristics were improved with the increase in the aging period. Overall, the color, tenderness, and sensory characteristics were improved in LL and GM muscles until 28 and 21 days of aging, respectively. Based on the evaluated meat characteristics, 28 days of aging is required to improve the meat quality characteristics of LL, whereas 21 days of aging is suitable for GM muscle.

Highlights

The water buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) is found in many tropical countries globally, in the Southeast Asia region [1]
All studies related to animals were pre-approved by the Institutional Ethical Review Committee, Office of Research Innovation and Commercialization (ORIC), the University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences (UVAS), Lahore, Pakistan
The present study aimed to evaluate the muscle-specific effects of aging time on the color, tenderness, and sensory attributes of buffalo meat

Summary

Introduction

The water buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) is found in many tropical countries globally, in the Southeast Asia region [1]. These buffalo are primarily kept for milk purposes; they have excellent potential for meat production and play a vital role in the agricultural economies of many developing countries [2]. Meat quality is described by many attributes, including its color, tenderness, juiciness, flavor, and palatability. Among all these attributes, tenderness is considered the primary quality characteristic regarding eating satisfaction [6,7].

Methods

Discussion

Conclusion