Abstract
In this study, the relationship between muscle fiber characteristics and meat quality of pork loin chops prepared using different directions of cut (vertical to the muscle length, M-Vertical; vertical or parallel to the muscle fiber orientation, F-Vertical or F-Parallel) was evaluated under different storage conditions (fresh, cold storage/aged, and freeze–thawed). Among the three groups, F-parallel displayed considerably larger size of muscle fibers, regardless of their type. This group also displayed an increase in discoloration in aged chops and a decrease in purge loss and tenderness than in other cut groups (p < 0.05). Freeze–thawing accelerated deterioration of meat quality, especially water-holding capacity and tenderness in all groups (p < 0.05), but was most prominent in F-Parallel. Therefore, to avoid excessive deterioration of fresh, aged, or frozen/thawed pork loin chops, it is important to consider the direction in which the chop is cut with respect to the muscle fiber orientation.
Highlights
Each skeletal muscle has unique morphological and histochemical characteristics based on its own physiological properties [1,2,3]
The longissimus dorsi (LD) muscle, a large muscle on the mammalian back that is responsible for the contraction and support of the vertebrae, is a unipennate type [7]
A previous study has demonstrated that meat quality, including cooking loss and tenderness, depends on the steak position in the beef strip loin that affect the muscle fiber angle [9]
Summary
Each skeletal muscle has unique morphological and histochemical characteristics based on its own physiological properties [1,2,3]. The pennation type (unipennate, bipennate, and multipennate) is characterized by the relative orientation and the angle formed by the skeletal muscle fibers to the force-generating axis [5,6]. Pork and beef loin steaks for cooking are generally prepared by cutting vertical to the muscle length. Muscle fibers exposed on the surface of loin steak are elliptical in shape due to the unipennate orientation of the muscle fiber to the fascia of the loin muscle. A previous study has demonstrated that meat quality, including cooking loss and tenderness, depends on the steak position in the beef strip loin that affect the muscle fiber angle [9]. The shape of muscle fiber on chop surface is determined by the cut axis and the pennation angle [8]
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