Meat quality of Caracu, Nellore and Angus x Caracu cattle using high hydrostatic pressure (HHP).
Genetic group, Pressurization, Tenderization, AFM and NMR.
Meat is a highly perishable product and consumers adopt tenderness as the most important parameter. In this sense, APH has been an option to increase meat tenderness as this technology physically disrupts muscle structure and provides meat tenderness. The objective of this research was to use APH in beef from different genetic groups aiming at the promotion of tenderization without causing alteration in the visual aspect. Forty-seven bovine longissimus dorsi muscle samples from the Caracu, Angus x Caracu and Nelore genetic groups submitted to two different pressure levels (100 MPa and 200 MPa) were compared to the non-pressurized meat samples. The following characteristics were evaluated: final pH of chilled meat, PPD, PPP, PPC, FC, CS, water activity, L *, a *, b *, AOL and EGC. The experimental design was completely randomized, in a 3x3 factorial scheme, with three genetic groups (CA, CG and NE) and three treatments (in natura, pressurization at 100 MPa and 200 MPa). In non-pressurized samples, a significant difference (p> 0.05) was observed for AOL, where CG was statistically higher than NE, but both were equal to CA. When the pressurized meat samples at 100 and 200 MPa were compared with the non-pressurized meat samples (regardless of genetic grouping), a difference was observed for HR and b *, where for CF the treatment at 200 MPa presented lower values than those found in NP samples, and for b * NP samples presented higher values than those pressurized at 100 MPa. Interaction (p <0.01) was observed between the factors (genetic grouping and pressurization) for the parameters PPC, L *, a * and b *. It was concluded that HR and b * may have been affected by APH. From the results of PPD, PPP, NMR, FC, CS, AFM and electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) it is suggested that APH does not affect the microscopic structures of myofibrils, however, it can be observed in AFM images and HR results that macroscopic structures of meat fiber were possibly affected.