Nuclear magnetic resonance to evaluate the chemical profile and quality of beef submitted to dry-aging and wet-aging maturation processes

• Grant number: 19/24086-8
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
• Start date: September 01, 2020
• End date: August 31, 2023
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Chemistry - Organic Chemistry
• Agreement: CONFAP - National Council of State Research Support Foundations
• Principal Investigator: Claudio Francisco Tormena
• Grantee: Claudio Francisco Tormena
• Host Institution: Instituto de Química (IQ). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil
• Associated researchers: Marco Antonio Trindade

Abstract

In order to commercialize beef, quality and tenderness are fundamental and several factors can influence, such as post-mortem treatments. There are several studies on meat tenderness, however, the biomarkers that express this quality attribute and may contribute to the rapid tenderness classification soon after slaughter, as well as genetic selection, are not well known. In beef commercialization, the maturation process has gained space because it produces softer meat and intense flavor. Maturation can take place in dry mode (dry-aging) or using a vacuum to keep the wet (wet-aging). These processes produce meat with higher added value, attracting small (specialized trades) and large producers. In this context, this work proposes to evaluate the dry-aging maturation process and compare it with the traditional (wet-aging), aiming to identify chemical markers involved in the tenderness and flavor characteristic of the beef maturation. It is also intended to evaluate the changes in the metabolic profile that occur in beef during maturation. This is expected to encourage domestic production of mature meat, especially via dry-aging, achieving higher quality meat and higher added value. (AU)