Sarcomere length in muscles of Romosinuano Creole cattle crossed with Brahman, in Córdoba, Colombia

Longitud de sarcómeros en músculos de bovinos criollos Romosinuano cruzados con Brahman, en Córdoba, Colombia

Objetive. To determine histologically the length of the sarcomeres (LS) in samples of comercial meat cuts of Cattle F1 Romosinuano by Cebu. Materials and methods. Eighteen muscle sections with four repetitions of ten animals were analyzed for the measurement of LS, stained with hematoxylin - Eosin and subsequently, the number of A bands present at a distance of 20 µm in each of the cuts were counted. Results. The average length of the sarcomeres was 2.12 µm. The longest sarcomeres were observed in the iliopsoas and tensor fasciae latae muscles with 3.32 and 3.26 µm, respectively, the first being classified on the market as a fine cut, due to their tenderness. As for the short LS, it could be seen in the gluteobiceps biceps femoris (1.69 µm) and gluteus medius (1.71 µm) muscles. Differences in sarcomere length (p <0.05) were associated with muscle type. Conclusion. The LS is an important indicator to understand the transformation of the muscle into meat during the different handling provided to the animal and the carcass. More studies are necessary to consider differentiating by factors such as breed, cold storage and arrangement of the carcasses on the LS, and to what extent they affect the qualities of the final product.

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