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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Athens, Georgia » U.S. National Poultry Research Center » Quality and Safety Assessment Research Unit » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #415293
Research Project: Assessment of Quality Attributes of Poultry Products, Grain, Seed, Nuts, and Feed

Location: Quality and Safety Assessment Research Unit

Title: Postmortem changes in water properties of wooden breast meat

Author
item CHOI, JANGHAN - Oak Ridge Institute For Science And Education (ORISE)
item Zhuang, Hong
item Bowker, Brian

Submitted to: International Congress of Meat Science and Technology Proceedings
Publication Type: Proceedings
Publication Acceptance Date: 5/6/2024
Publication Date: 8/18/2024
Citation: Choi, J., Zhuang, H., Bowker, B.C. 2024. Postmortem changes in water properties of wooden breast meat. International Congress of Meat Science and Technology Proceedings. No. P233: 74.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Previous research has shown that the wooden breast (WB) myopathy in broiler breast muscles causes not only undesirable texture attributes but also diminished water-holding capacity (WHC) in breast meat. The underlying factors controlling WHC in WB are not well understood. The objective of this study was to compare changes in water properties throughout the first 24 h postmortem in WB and normal breast meat using time domain nuclear magnetic resonance (TD-NMR). Breast muscles (Pectoralis major) from 56-day old broilers were removed at <5 min postmortem from 15 normal carcasses and 15 carcasses exhibiting severe WB. At 0, 0.5, 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 12, and 24 h postmortem, transverse relaxation time (T2) was measured on samples using a time domain 1H NMR analyzer. The T2 relaxation decays were analyzed using CONTIN software to estimate the time constants and relative proportions of water populations. Effects of WB condition, postmortem time, and their interaction were analyzed using a two-way ANOVA with repeated measures. Analysis of T2 data revealed 4 water populations in meat samples: T2b (4-5 ms, water bound to macromolecules), T21 (40-60 ms, intramyofibrillar water), T22a (140-210 ms, extramyofibrillar water with lower mobility), and T22b (350-550 ms, extramyofibrillar water with higher mobility). Water properties (mobility and distribution) changed most rapidly during the first 3-5 h postmortem and were then relatively steady until 24 h postmortem for both normal and WB meat. Purge loss also increased most rapidly during the first 3 h postmortem, particularly for WB samples. With the progression of postmortem time, relative proportions of bound and intramyofibrillar water increased (P<0.05) whereas extramyofibrillar water decreased (P<0.05). All 4 water populations exhibited greater (P<0.05) mobility in WB compared to normal meat. The relative proportions of bound and intramyofibrillar water were greater (P<0.05) in normal meat and the relative proportions of extramyofibrillar water were greater (P<0.05) in WB meat. These data suggest that physical changes associated with rigor mortis may play a key role in controlling water distribution and WHC characteristics in breast meat. Furthermore, the early postmortem period was demonstrated to be a critical phase in the development of the inferior WHC characteristics in WB meat.