EFFECT OF POST‐MORTEM AGING ON ISOLATION OF INTRAMUSCULAR CONNECTIVE TISSUE

Abstract

SUMMARY The yield of bovine and porcine intramuscular connective tissue (IMCT) was quantitated at various time intervals post‐mortem. The pH of the muscle tissue was followed through the aging period, and the heat absorbed during hydrothermal shrinkage (ΔHs) and the temperature of the transition (Ts) determined on the IMCT. The yield of bovine IMCT at 72 hr post‐mortem was 50% lower than that at 0 hr, whereas 34% lower yields were found for the porcine tissue (P < 0.01). Loss in the yield of IMCT was paralleled by the drop in pH post‐mortem. Recovery of IMCT reached a minimum in the pH range 5.43–5.53. No marked differences in ΔHs or Ts were observed in any of the samples studied.