Age‐Associated Changes in Muscle Composition. The Isolation and Properties of a Collagenous Residue from Bovine Musclea

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Abstract
SUMMARY: Age‐associated changes in the chemical composition of bovine biceps femoris muscle were studied. Veal muscle had significantly lower Kjeldahl nitrogen and higher moisture contents than muscle from the three older age groups studied. Muscle from veal and from the oldest group (cows, 10 years) possessed less fat than muscle from the two intermediate groups (steers, 1–2 years, and cows, 5 years). A modified procedure for determination of hydroxyproline and its use directly on mean hydrolysates are described. Use of this technique failed to reveal any significant differences in the hydroxyproline content, and presumably the connective‐tissue content, of muscle from the four groups. Warner‐Bratzler shear‐force values of cores from biceps femoris steaks from the three oldest groups indicated that tenderness decreased with age. A method is given for isolation of large quantities of connective tissue from biceps femoris. Chemical analyses of these connective‐tissue residues are presented, and the possibility is discussed that the veal connective tissue contains large amounts of reticulin.