Carcass yields and physiochemical meat quality characteristics of Namibian gemsbok (Oryx gazella) as influenced by muscle, gender and age

Louwrens C Hoffman; Diana L van Schalkwyk; Magdalena Muller; Tersia Needham; Berndt J van Rensburg; Kenneth W McMillin

doi:10.1016/j.meatsci.2020.108208

Carcass yields and physiochemical meat quality characteristics of Namibian gemsbok (Oryx gazella) as influenced by muscle, gender and age

Meat Sci. 2020 Nov:169:108208. doi: 10.1016/j.meatsci.2020.108208. Epub 2020 Jun 8.

Authors

Louwrens C Hoffman¹, Diana L van Schalkwyk², Magdalena Muller³, Tersia Needham⁴, Berndt J van Rensburg⁵, Kenneth W McMillin⁶

Affiliations

¹ Department of Animal Sciences, University of Stellenbosch, Private Bag X1, Matieland, Stellenbosch 7602, South Africa; Centre for Nutrition and Food Sciences, Queensland Alliance for Agriculture and Food Innovation, University of Queensland, Coopers Plains, QLD, 4108, Australia. Electronic address: louwrens.hoffman@uq.edu.au.
² Department of Animal Sciences, University of Stellenbosch, Private Bag X1, Matieland, Stellenbosch 7602, South Africa; Department of Food Science, University of Stellenbosch, Private Bag X1, Matieland, Stellenbosch 7602, South Africa.
³ Department of Food Science, University of Stellenbosch, Private Bag X1, Matieland, Stellenbosch 7602, South Africa.
⁴ Department of Animal Sciences, University of Stellenbosch, Private Bag X1, Matieland, Stellenbosch 7602, South Africa; Department of Animal Science and Food Processing, Faculty of Tropical AgriSciences, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Kamýcká 961/129, Prague 165 00, Czech Republic.
⁵ School of Biological Sciences, University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, 4072, Australia.
⁶ School of Animal Sciences, Louisiana State University Agricultural Center, Baton Rouge, LA 70803-4210, United States.

PMID: 32554318
DOI: 10.1016/j.meatsci.2020.108208

Abstract

The carcass yields and physiochemical meat quality characteristics of six different muscles (biceps femoris, infraspinatus, longissimus thoracis et lumborum, semimembranosus, semitendinosus, supraspinatus) for different sex and age groups of gemsbok antelope were determined. No live weight nor dressing percentage differences were observed for the different sex groups. While muscles, age and sex had an influence on the physiochemical parameters investigated, these differences were minor. The CIE Lab colour values for all muscles, age and sexes were in line with those deemed acceptable for game meat, while mean crude protein (20.7%) and fat (1.6%) levels were typical of game species. Discriminant analysis revealed no differentiation among the muscle groups for the variables measured. Thus, at similar live weights, male and female (sub-adult) gemsbok can be considered of equivalent meat quality and marketed accordingly.

Keywords: Game meat; Proximate analyses; Quality; Venison.

MeSH terms

Age Factors
Animals
Antelopes
Color
Female
Male
Meat / analysis*
Muscle, Skeletal / chemistry*
Sex Factors