Correlations of blood lactate content at exsanguination to objective and subjective tenderness of pork loin

摘要

The purpose of this study was to investigate the correlations between blood lactate content and meat pH_(24 h), tenderness measured by objective (Warner-Bratzler shear force & texture profile analysis) and subjective (sensory evaluation) ways. For this study, a total of 108 (Duroc=80, Landrace=20, and Yorkshire=8) pigs were used for measuring blood lactate content at exsanguination, and a total of 108 pork loins were used for meat pH_(24 h,) WBS, TPA-hardness, and sensory hardness and initial hardness. Meat pH_(24 h,) was correlated to WBS (r=-0.44, P<0.001), and TPA-hardness (r=-0.45, P<0.001). However, pH_(24 h) was not significantly related to sensory initial tenderness parameters (sensory hardness & initial hardness). Tenderness parameters measured by objective and subjective ways were significantly related to each other. Blood lactate content measured at exsanguination was correlated to meat pH_(24 h) (r=-0.38, P<0.001), WBS (r=0.42, P<0.001), and TPA-hardness (r=0.21, P<0.05). However, significant correlations between blood lactate content and sensory initial tenderness parameters were not observed. Consequently, these results indicated that blood lactate content at exsanguination was correlated to objective tenderness of meat such as WBS and TPA-hardness, and meat with lower blood lactate content are more tender at first penetration compared to meat with higher blood lactate content.