Water holding capacity and collagen profile of bovine m. infraspinatus during postmortem ageing.

Changes in the water holding capacity (WHC) and collagen profile in bovine m. infraspinatus during ageing in a vacuum at 3 °C up to 20 days were studied. Moisture, expressible water and total collagen content were determined in raw samples and muscles were then subjected to thermal treatment in steam. Moisture, collagen fractions (total, water-soluble, insoluble, acetic acid-soluble, total soluble) and cooking loss were determined in the cooked meat. Ageing time did not significantly influence WHC (expressible water content as a % of moisture), moisture content in raw and cooked meat or cooking loss. Between the 5th and 10th day of ageing a significant increase was noted in acetic acid-soluble collagen and total soluble collagen content along with a decrease in insoluble collagen content (p b 0.05). A significant negative relationship was found between the expressible water content and the water-soluble collagen. It was concluded that connective tissue ageing of bovine m. infraspinatus might be finished after 10 days.