Nishimura T, Liu A, Hattori A, Takahashi K
Department of Animal Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan.
J Anim Sci. 1998 Feb;76(2):528-32. doi: 10.2527/1998.762528x.
We studied changes in mechanical strength during postmortem aging of bovine semitendinosus muscle using intramuscular connective tissue (IMCT) preparations from muscle stored at 4 degrees C. In the preparation, muscle fiber elements were removed, leaving a virtually intact structure of the endomysium and perimysium. The shear-force value of the IMCT preparation remained unchanged up to 10 d postmortem and decreased linearly thereafter. The yield of the perimysial fraction, which was measured as an indicator of mechanical properties of the perimysium, remained almost unchanged up to 14 d postmortem, and decreased gradually thereafter. These results suggest that the mechanical strength of the intramuscular connective tissue changes slowly during postmortem aging of beef; it remains almost unchanged for up to 10 d postmortem and progressively decreases thereafter. Thus, intramuscular connective tissue seems to affect beef tenderization in extended aging.
我们使用从4℃储存的肌肉中获取的肌内结缔组织（IMCT）制剂，研究了牛半腱肌死后老化过程中的机械强度变化。在该制剂中，肌肉纤维成分被去除，留下了几乎完整的肌内膜和肌束膜结构。IMCT制剂的剪切力值在死后10天内保持不变，此后呈线性下降。作为肌束膜机械性能指标测量的肌束膜部分的产量，在死后14天内几乎保持不变，此后逐渐下降。这些结果表明，牛肉死后老化过程中肌内结缔组织的机械强度变化缓慢；在死后长达10天内几乎保持不变，此后逐渐下降。因此，肌内结缔组织似乎在延长老化过程中影响牛肉嫩化。
