The rapid and approximate estimation of rumenic acid content in lean
beef by NIRS would be very valuable due to its purported roles in the prevention
and possible treatment of several diseases including diabetes,
obesity and some types of cancer (Belury, 2002; Ip et al., 2003). The
results of the current study were slightly better than those previously
reported by Prieto et al. (2011) for rumenic acid content in beef (R2 =
0.71, RPD = 1.8) and much better than those found by Sierra et al.
(2008), who did not find accurate NIRS predictions for either total
CLA (R2 = 0.587, RPD = 1.55) or rumenic acid content (R2 = 0.613,
RPD = 1.52) in beef.