Eikelenboom G, Smulders F J
Research Institute for Animal Production, 'Schoonoord', Zeist, The Netherlands.
Meat Sci. 1986;16(2):103-12. doi: 10.1016/0309-1740(86)90069-0.
In three experiments involving a total of eighty-eight veal calves raised in groups and with access to straw, plasma hemoglobin (Hb) levels were determined at one week ante mortem. In each experiment, animals with similar Hb levels were paired. One animal of each pair was stimulated electrically (ES) post mortem whereas the other remained non-stimulated (NS). ES resulted in a more rapid pH fall in longissimus and semi-membranosus muscle. Carcass lean colour scores were improved at 24h, but not at 40 min, post mortem. At 24h post mortem longissimus muscle from ES carcasses showed a brighter colour, lower sarcomere length and lower protein solubility. No significant differences were observed in total haem pigment. After vacuum storage at 3°C for 6 days, samples from ES carcasses had a brighter colour, higher drip and heating loss, lower maximum shear force values, and better ranking and scoring in taste panel preference tests than NS samples. The data indicate that a certain degree of denaturation of the sarcoplasmic proteins may be responsible for the observed effects of ES on water retention and muscle colour, while the improvement of tenderness in the present experiment was due to the prevention, by the treatment, of cold shortening. It is suggested that ES may possibly contribute to the introduction of alternative veal production methods, and thus improve animal welfare.
在三项实验中，共88头小牛肉犊分组饲养，有稻草可食，在屠宰前一周测定血浆血红蛋白（Hb）水平。在每项实验中，将Hb水平相似的动物配对。每对中的一只动物在宰后进行电刺激（ES），而另一只保持不刺激（NS）。电刺激导致背最长肌和半膜肌的pH值下降更快。宰后24小时胴体瘦肉颜色评分有所改善，但在宰后40分钟时没有改善。宰后24小时，电刺激处理的胴体的背最长肌颜色更亮，肌节长度更短，蛋白质溶解度更低。总血红素色素未观察到显著差异。在3°C真空储存6天后，电刺激处理的胴体的样品比未刺激处理的样品颜色更亮，滴水损失和加热损失更高，最大剪切力值更低，在味觉小组偏好测试中的排名和评分更好。数据表明，肌浆蛋白的一定程度变性可能是电刺激对保水性和肌肉颜色所观察到的影响的原因，而本实验中嫩度的改善是由于该处理防止了冷收缩。建议电刺激可能有助于引入替代的小牛肉生产方法，从而改善动物福利。
