title: Effect of low voltage electrical stimulation on the distribution of cathepsin D and the palatability of the Longissimus dorsi from Holstein veal calves fed a corn or barley diet.
abstract: Forty male Holstein veal calves (45 kg) were weaned on milk replacer given once or twice daily and fed either a corn or a barley diet until slaughter at 215 kg liveweight. Carcasses from half of the animals on each diet were assigned to low-voltage electrical stimulation (LVES), the other half served as controls. LVES accelerated the pH drop of the meat (P<0·01) and resulted in a more rapid liberation of cathepsin D (P < 0·01) in the soluble fraction of the longissimus dorsi homogenate. Despite the faster liberation of cathepsin D, meat samples from the LVES group were tougher than those of controls (P < 0·01). Meat colour measured by reflectance was not affected by the post-mortem treatments but ageing for six days significantly decreased the reflectance measurements (P < 0·01). The meat flavor was more pronounced for controls and for barley fed animals (P < 0·01). SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of the myofibrillar proteins demonstrated that meat ageing favored the degradation of troponin-T (TN-T) and the appearance of a new banding pattern in the 25-35 kdalton region. Compared with controls ES had a tendency to decrease the rate of degradation of TN-T although no difference in the banding patterns could be observed after 6 days of ageing.
authors: Lennoxville Research Station, Agriculture Canada, Lennoxville, Québec, Canada J1M-1Z3.
authors: S A
authors: SA
authors: Pommier
authors: L M
authors: LM
authors: Poste
authors: G
authors: G
authors: Butler