Does pulsed electric field have a potential to improve the quality of beef from older animals and how?

A study was designed to investigate whether pulsed electric field (PEF) has any potential to improve the quality of beef from older animals and to elucidate the mechanism involved. PEF treated beef Semirnernbranosus samples viz. T-1 (5kV-0.36 kV/cm-90 Hz), T-2 (10 kV -0.60 kV/cm-20 Hz) and a non-treated control were vacuum packaged and stored for 14 days at 4 +/- 1 degrees C. Samples were analysed for casein zymography, Western blotting, SDSPage and various physicochemical properties. An improvement was recorded in calpain activity of the samples treated with PEF along with an early activation of calpain 2. Increased proteolysis of troponin-T and desmin was also recorded, however, no significant impact was observed on the shear force and myofibrillar fragmentation index. By influencing the calpain activity of the muscle, this study confirmed the enzymatic nature of PEF and concludes that PEF has a limited potential to improve the quality of excessively tough muscles from culled dairy animals.