Effect of Novel High-intensity Ultrasound Technique on Physio-chemical, Sensory Attributes, and Microstructure of Bovine Semitendinosus Muscle

Eun Yeong Lee¹^,^†, Dhanushka Rathnayake¹^,^†, Yu Min Son¹, Allah Bakhsh², Young Hwa Hwang³, Jeong Keun Seo⁴, Chul Beom Kim⁴, Seon Tea Joo¹^,³^,^*

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¹Division of Applied Life Science (BK21+), Gyeongsang National University, Jinju 52852, Korea.

²Department of Food Science and Biotechnology, College of Life Science, Sejong University, Seoul 05006, Korea.

³Institute of Agriculture & Life Science, Gyeongsang National University, Jinju 52852, Korea.

⁴Deep Plant Pvt. Ltd, Goyang 10524, Korea.

† These authors contributed equally to this work.

^*Corresponding Author: Seon Tea Joo, Division of Applied Life Science (BK21+), Gyeongsang National University, Jinju 52852, Korea, Jinju 52852, Korea. Institute of Agriculture & Life Science, Gyeongsang National University, Jinju 52852, Korea. E-mail: stjoo@gnu.ac.kr.

© Copyright 2022 Korean Society for Food Science of Animal Resources. This is an Open-Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Received: Sep 19, 2022 ; Revised: Sep 27, 2022 ; Accepted: Oct 05, 2022

Published Online: Oct 12, 2022

Abstract

The present study aimed to evaluate the effects of high-intensity ultrasound (HIU) application on meat quality traits, sensory parameters, and the microstructure of semitendinosus muscle from Hanwoo cattle. The samples were treated in an ultrasonic bath (35 kHz) at an intensity of 800 W for 60 min, followed by aging at 1 °C for 0, 3, and 7 days. The application of ultrasound resulted in lower Warner-Bratzler shear force (WBSF) and higher myofibrillar fragmentation index (MFI) values during the storage period. HIU also enhanced the tenderness, flavor, umami, and overall acceptability of cooked beef muscle. However, the electronic tongue evaluation results showed higher umami values in the control treatment on the seventh day of storage. The microstructure of sonicated meat showed disorganized myofibrillar architecture and swelling in the A-band region of sarcomeres during the storage period, which led to greater meat tenderness. The heatmap illustrated the high abundance of α-linolenic acid and eicosapentaenoic acid (C20:5n3 and C18:3n3) in sonicated meat samples on the third day of the storage. These results showed that HIU is a potential method for tenderizing and improving the sensory attributes of Hanwoo cattle meat without compromising other quality aspects.

Keywords: High-intensity ultrasound; semitendinosus; tenderness; microstructure; sensory attributes.