title: Tenderness--an enzymatic view.
abstract: One of the most common causes of unacceptability in meat quality is toughness. Toughness is attributed to a range of factors including the amount of intramuscular connective tissue, intramuscular fat, and the length of the sarcomere. However, it is apparent that the extent of proteolysis of key proteins within muscle fibres is significant determinant of ultimate tenderness. The objective of this manuscript is to describe the main endogenous proteolytic enzyme systems that have the potential to be involved in muscle post-mortem proteolysis and whether the experimental evidence available supports this involvement.
authors.affiliation: Roman L. Hruska US Meat Animal Research Center, USDA, ARS, Clay Center, Nebraska 68933-0166, USA.
authors.forename: Caroline M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Kemp
authors.forename: Paul L
authors.initials: PL
authors.lastname: Sensky
authors.forename: Ronald G
authors.initials: RG
authors.lastname: Bardsley
authors.forename: Peter J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Buttery
authors.forename: Tim
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Parr
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002135:Calcium-Binding Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D002154:Calpain / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000378:metabolism; D020169:Caspases / Q000378:metabolism; D002403:Cathepsins / Q000378:metabolism; D055598:Chemical Phenomena; D005524:Food Technology; D006801:Humans; D008460:Meat / Q000592:standards*; D018482:Muscle, Skeletal / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000502:physiology; D010447:Peptide Hydrolases / Q000378:metabolism*; D011180:Postmortem Changes; D013649:Taste
chemical_list: D002135:Calcium-Binding Proteins; C033668:calpastatin; D002403:Cathepsins; D010447:Peptide Hydrolases; D002154:Calpain; D020169:Caspases