Effects of high-pressure treatment on the ultrastructure and thermal behaviour of beef intramuscular collagen.

Effects of high-pressure treatment on the ultrastructure and thermal behaviour of beef intramuscular collagen were investigated to clarify the pressure effects on background toughness attributed to the presence of connective tissue in the muscle. No significant differences in the ultrastructure, electrophoretic pattern, thermal solubility and thermogram of differential scanning calorimetric analysis of the intramuscular collagen were observed among the control (untreated) and pressurized muscles. From the results, it is suggested that the pressurization has no significant effects on the connective tissue and the pressure-induced tenderization of meat could probably be caused only by the improvement of actomyosin toughness attributed to the myofibrillar proteins.