4. Conclusions
The findings of the present study indicated that the differential
abundance of sarcoplasmic proteome contributes to intramuscular
variation in beef color stability. The low color stablity of ISM could be
possibly due to its rapid post-mortem glycolysis, as indicated by the
greater abundance of glycolytic enzymes (fructose-bisphosphate aldolase
A, phosphoglycerate mutase 2, and beta-enolase) in ISM. Rapid
glycolysis during the post-mortem period could cause rapid pH decline
whilemuscle temperature is high, leading to PSE-like conditions in beef
ISM. The results of the present study will aid in explaining the fundamental
mechanisms of intramuscular color variations in beef and
could be utilized to engineer novel carcass handling, antioxidant, injection
enhancement, and packaging strategies to improve beef color
stability.