Abstract
In the past decades, metabolomics has been used to comprehensively understand a variety of food materials for improvement and assessment of food quality. Farm animal skeletal muscles and meat are one of the major targets of metabolomics for the characterization of meat and the exploration of biomarkers in the production system. For identification of potential biomarkers to control meat quality, studies of animal muscles and meat with metabolomics (MEATabolomics) has been conducted in combination with analyses of meat quality traits, focusing on specific factors associated with animal genetic background and sensory scores, or conditions in feeding system and treatments of meat in the processes such as postmortem storage, processing, and hygiene control. Currently, most of MEATabolomics approaches combine separation techniques (gas or liquid chromatography, and capillary electrophoresis)–mass spectrometry (MS) or nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) approaches with the downstream multivariate analyses, depending on the polarity and/or hydrophobicity of the targeted metabolites. Studies employing these approaches provide useful information to monitor meat quality traits efficiently and to understand the genetic background and production system of animals behind the meat quality. MEATabolomics is expected to improve the knowledge and methodologies in animal breeding and feeding, meat storage and processing, and prediction of meat quality.
Highlights
In the last two decades, the metabolomic approach has been employed widely in the research fields of animal and plant nutrition, physiology, breeds, environment, post-harvest storage and processing [1,2] with the advantages of its high-throughput capacity
This review provides an overview of past applications, recent findings, and topics achieved by mass spectrometry (MS)- and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR)-based MEATabolomics approaches associated with animal muscle physiology and meat quality traits
We especially focus on studies of meat quality traits and the factors influencing meat quality, such as postmortem aging, as well as animal breed and feeding, processing, spoilage, and authentication
Summary
In the last two decades, the metabolomic approach has been employed widely in the research fields of animal and plant nutrition, physiology, breeds, environment, post-harvest storage and processing [1,2] with the advantages of its high-throughput capacity. The history of the muscle in the developmental and physiological specialization, feeding processes of animals, circumstances in slaughtering, postmortem aging, and processing processes all have influences on transcriptomic and/or proteomic profiles, and on the muscle metabolome profile This makes the understanding of mechanisms behind meat quality traits by the use of molecular markers more difficult. We especially focus on studies of meat quality traits and the factors influencing meat quality, such as postmortem aging, as well as animal breed and feeding, processing, spoilage, and authentication. Using those keywords, a total of 78 studies were collected by search in databases such as PubMed, ScienceDirect, and Springer Link, from which 56 studies were selected and featured
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