Cholesterol in Subcutaneous and Intramuscular Lipid Depots from Bovine Carcasses of Different Maturity and Fatness

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Abstract
Cholesterol analysis, using the Liebermann-Burchard reaction, was conducted on samples from 72 carcasses of different maturity and marbling scores. Samples were taken from the external and inner layers of subcutaneous fat dorsal to the l. dorsimuscle at the 12 13th thoracic vertebrae and from the l. dorsimuscle at the 5–8th thoracic vertebrae. Cholesterol content of both the internal and external layers of subcutaneous fat increased with advancing carcass maturity, but the increase occurred much earlier for the external layer. For the two younger maturity groups, the cholesterol content was lower in the internal layer. Intramuscular lipid contained more cholesterol than either subcutaneous fat layer. Cholesterol content of the l. dorsimuscle did not change with maturity, regardless of whether the data were expressed on a tissueweight or a lipid-content basis. On a lipid-content basis cholesterol content of the l.dorsi muscle increased with a decreasing marbling score, but on a tissue-weight basis cholesterol content did not differ among the different marbling scores. These data indicate that marbling contains no detectable cholesterol when analyzed by the methods used in this study and that highly marbled beef should not contribute any more to cholesterol intake than does beef with little marbling. Copyright © 1966. American Society of Animal Science . Copyright 1966 by American Society of Animal Science