Effects of Age on Quality of Beef from Qinchuan Cattle Carcass

Qinchuan cattle are one of the top breeds in China. In the current study, cattle of different ages were used to investigate the effect of age on beef quality. With increasing age, shear force, protein content, hydroxyproline (Hyp) content, redness (a*), and muscle fiber diameter and density significantly increased (P<0.05). On the other hand, cooking loss, water content, lightness (L*), and muscle fiber gap markedly decreased (P<0.05). No significant differences were found in the contents of intramuscular fat, ash, amino acids (AA), mineral elements, and expression level of leptin and FAS (P>0.05). The C16:0 and C18:0 content increased significantly (P<0.05), in contrast to that of C18:1 and C18:2 (P<0.05). COLA1 mRNA was expressed at low levels at mon 3 and 9 but markedly increased at mon 12 and 15 (P<0.05). Taken together, these observations demonstrate excellent nutritional values of beef from cattle of different ages concordant with their chemical properties; on the other hand, their commercial value correlates more closely with their physical and sensory characteristics.