Masters Degrees (Animal Sciences)

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Browsing Masters Degrees (Animal Sciences) by Subject "Aepyceros melampus"

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    The effect of age and sex on the meat quality of impala (Aepyceros melampus)
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2020-03) Du Plessis, Anel; Hoffman, Louwrens C.; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of AgriSciences. Dept. of Animal Science.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The aim of this study was to provide baseline data on the effect of animal age and sex on the yield, physical meat quality and chemical composition of impala (Aepyceros melampus) meat. The analysis took place on the following six muscles: infraspinatus (IS), supraspinatus (SS), longissimus thoracis et lumborum (LTL), biceps femoris (BF), semimembranosus (SM) and semitendinosus (ST). A total of 32 impala were used during this study. The male animals were divided into three age categories of 18-months old, 30-months old and 42-months old with eight animals per age group. The eight female animals were all 30-months of age. The 42-month-old rams had the heaviest dead weight (58.3 ± 5.99 kg) and carcass weight (34.1 ± 4.03 kg), but no differences in dressing percentage between the ages were noted. The male animals also had heavier dead weights and carcass weights in comparison to the same aged female animals. The total offal was heavier in the 42-month-old animals as well as the red offal proportion. The muscle weight increased with age, with the 42-month-old animals having the highest muscle yield. Age did not affect the physical meat quality of the muscles that were analysed; no differences were found between the water holding capacity, shear force as well as colour between the different age groups. Sex had an influence on some of the muscles analysed. This was mainly observed in the lightness (L* values) of the muscles with the ewes having lower L* values and thus darker meat in comparison to the rams. The difference in L* values is possibly due to the difference observed in muscle pH between the rams and ewes. The female animals had a higher pH for the majority of the muscles in comparison to the rams. Despite these slight differences, it would seem as if impala have inherently high meat quality attributes ideal for fresh meat production. The chemical composition of the muscles analysed were unaffected by age. The moisture content ranged between 75.0 ± 0.39 - 76.7 ± 0.90 g/100 g meat, the protein content between 20.8 ± 1.03 - 22.6 ± 0.41 g/100 g, the intramuscular fat content between 1.6 ± 0.31 – 2.4 ± 1.30 g/100 g, the ash content between 1.2 ± 0.07 - 1.6 ± 1.08 g/100 g as well as the myoglobin content ranged between 8.2 ± 1.17 - 11.6 ± 2.17 mg/g. Sex also had minimal effect on the proximate composition and myoglobin content of the muscles analysed. Slight differences between the muscles were observed for some of the proximate components. These differences were due to the different anatomical location and thus the function of each muscle. The data generated will aid producers and marketers in the accurate production, marketing, labelling and consumer education regarding impala meat production.