Physical and chemical properties of male and female mountain reedbuck (Redunca fulvorufula) meat

Abstract

The influence of gender on the physical and chemical properties of the M. longissimus dorsi et lumborum of mountain reedbuck (Redunca fulvorufula) was examined. The mean live weights of ten male (28.58 kg) and nineteen female (30.58 kg) mountain reedbuck did not differ (P > 0.05),and the mean cold carcass weight was 16.36 kg for both genders. Gender had no influence (P > 0.05) on any of the physical characteristics (pH, drip loss, cooking loss, shear force, colour) investigated. For the proximate chemical analysis of the M. longissimus dorsi et lumborum muscle, the effect of gender was only significant for the protein content, where the females (24.51%) displayed a higher percentage of protein compared to the males (23.68%). Neither the amino acid nor the mineral content differed significantly between the two genders. Glutamic acid (11.35 g/100 g) was the most abundant amino acid, followed by aspartic acid (2.94 g/100 g), glycine (0.86 g/100 g) and serine (0.66 g/100 g). The mineral content of mountain reedbuck indicated that meat derived from this species is high in phosphorus (206.47 mg/100 g), high in iron (4.19 mg/100 g), a source of zinc (1.80 mg/100 g), and low in sodium (4.19 mg/100 g). No significant differences between the genders for total saturated fatty acids (38.09%), total mono-unsaturated fatty acids (18.04%) or total polyunsaturated fatty acids (43.74%) were noted. The mean polyunsaturated:saturated fatty acid ratio for mountain reedbuck was 1.15 and the mean n-6:n-3 PUFA ratio 2.08. The extent of the influence of gender on physical and chemical characteristics of meat was found to be of limited practical value.