title: Meat quality characteristics of springbok (Antidorcas marsupialis). 2: Chemical composition of springbok meat as influenced by age, gender and production region.
abstract: The effects of age, gender and production region on the chemical, mineral and amino acid composition of the M. longissimus dorsi (LD) muscle of springbok were investigated. There was a significant gender(∗)region interaction for protein content - for the four production regions it varied between 18.80 and 21.16g/100g. The intramuscular fat (IMF) content of the LD muscle varied between 1.32 and 3.46g/100g. Females (3.13±0.28g/100g) had a higher (P<0.05) fat content than males (1.35±0.08g/100g). The IMF content of the adult (2.45±0.26g/100g) and sub-adult (2.50±0.28g/100g) categories was higher (P<0.05) in comparison to that of the lambs (1.32±0.11g/100g). An inverse correlation was noted between the IMF and moisture content (r=-0.49, P<0.001) of the meat. The two main amino acids were glutamic and aspartic acid, which contributed 2.47-2.74 and 2.31-2.54g/100g of dry matter, respectively. Phosphorous was the predominant mineral in the LD muscle (122.92-159.78mg/100g of dry matter), followed by potassium (119.44-131.25mg/100g of dry matter) and calcium (6.57-145.18mg/100g of dry matter). Production region had a significant effect on the mineral and amino acid composition of the meat, while the effects of age and gender were found to be insignificant.
authors: Department of Animal Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Private Bag X1, Matieland, Stellenbosch, 7602, South Africa.
authors: L C
authors: LC
authors: Hoffman
authors: M
authors: M
authors: Kroucamp
authors: M
authors: M
authors: Manley