Comparison of Muscle Characteristics and Post-Mortem Glycolysis in three Breeds of Swine

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Abstract
Comparisons of some of the chemical and physical characteristics of longissimus dorsi muscle from the Hampshire, Chester White and Poland China breeds were made. The initial glycogen level of Hampshire muscle at slaughter was found to be two to three times greater than muscle of the other two breeds. Approximately 50% of the glycogen in the Hampshire muscle was degraded during post-mortem glycolysis compared with more than 90% for the other breeds. The quantity of glycogen degraded in Hampshire muscle was not completely accounted for by lactic acid accumulation. Total phosphorylase and phosphofructokinase activities were also much higher in Hampshire muscle than in muscle of the other two breeds and the activities of these glycolytic enzymes did not appear to be associated with glycolytic rate or ultimate muscle properties. The initial pH of Poland China muscle was markedly lower than the pH of muscle from the other two breeds. Rates of pH decline and color change were very rapid in Poland China muscle, moderate in Hampshire muscle and relatively slow in Chester White muscle. Likewise, the Poland China muscle had considerably higher lactic acid concentrations. Buffering power of the muscle was not found to differ greatly among breeds. The time course of rigor mortis, particularly in length of the delay phase, was found to be shorter for Chester White muscle. Copyright © 1963. American Society of Animal Science . Copyright 1963 by American Society of Animal Science