Comparative evaluation of longissimus and semimembranosus muscle characteristics from free-living and farmed red deer (Cervus elaphus) in Lithuania

Abstract

The aim of the study was to compare characteristics of longissimus dorsi (LD) and semimembranosus (SM) muscles from free-living and farmed red deer (Cervus elaphus) in Lithuania. No significant differences were found either between LD and SM muscles of freeliving and farmed red deer or within these muscles of red deer from different environments regarding meat pH and colour parameters. The assessment of meat toughness employing the Warner-Bratzler (WB) method showed the longissimus muscle of free-living deer to be tenderer than the semimembranosus muscle. The TPA (texture profile analysis) method, in contrast to the WB test, showed higher tenderness of the semimembranosus muscle in farmed red deer. The present study revealed only small differences in properties of free-living and farmed red deer meat, i.e. intramuscular fat in the longissimus muscle of free-living red deer had a lower and a more favourable n-6/n-3 PUFA ratio and the semimembranosus muscle a lower content of cholesterol than the respective muscles of farmed deer. Therefore, the meat of free-living red deer could be considered to be more acceptable in terms of healthy nutrition.