Comparison of Meat Quality Traits, Free Amino Acid and Fatty Acid on Longissimus Lumborum Muscles from Hanwoo, Holstein and Angus Steers, Fattened in Korea

This study was conducted to compare meat quality traits related to the tenderness of longissimus muscles obtained from domestic and imported steers. A total of 12 steers from three breeds were slaughtered, and were graded as quality grade 2. They were composed of 4 Hanwoo and 4 Holstein steers (domestic) as well as 4 Angus steers (imported from Australia and gained for six months in Korea until slaughtered). The longissimus lumborum muscles were separated and were stored at 4 C for 7 and 14 d. Sarcomere length of Hanwoo was significantly shorter than Holstein and Angus at storage day 14 (p<0.05). The myofibrillar index was significantly lower on Hanwoo than Angus at ageing day 7, and was significantly lower than Holstein and Angus steers at storage day 14 (p<0.05). Total collagen contents of Hanwoo and Angus steers were significantly higher than Holstein on storage day 7 (p<0.05), whereas soluble collagen contents of Holstein were significantly higher than Hanwoo and Angus on storage days 7 and 14 (p<0.05). There was no significant difference in the fatty acid composition of the three breeds (p>0.05). Glutamic acid contents of Hanwoo and Angus steers were higher than those of Holstein steers at ageing day 7 and 14 (p<0.05). The results of this study have shown that there were no dramatic differences between beef from the three breeds that were fattened for 6 months under equal conditions.