Nucleotide Catabolism and Changes in Texture Indices During Ice Storage of Cultured Sturgeon, Acipenser Transmontanus

Abstract

ATP depletion and other biochemical changes were related to texture indices of cooked sturgeon meat from struggled and anesthetized fish. The rates of ATP depletion, pH decline and time of rigor onset were slow in both sturgeon groups compared to other finfish. ATP depletion and accumulation of inosine and hypoxanthine were significantly faster in sturgeon allowed to struggle before death than in anesthetized fish. Penetrometer tests revealed that cooked sturgeon meat was firmer prior to ATP depletion and the onset of rigor than in the postrigor state. Fish allowed to struggle prior to death had a softer cooked meat than anesthetized fish during the first few days of iced storage. Compression tests showed that texture of cooked meat was firmest when the muscle was in rigor and also showed that meat from struggled fish was softer than that from anesthetized fish. These findings suggested that the tough texture problem, sometimes observed in farmed sturgeon, may be minimized by allowing the sturgeon meat to go through rigor prior to cooking.

Fish welfare and quality as affected by pre-slaughter and slaughter management

“…The application of stress factors infra vitam and/or in the ante mortem period may interact and influence both the animal's physiological reactions -in this way worsening the animal performance -and the post mortem biochemical processes that turn muscle into meat, in this way affecting the quality and durability of the final product (Azam et al 1989;Izquierdo-Pulido et al 1992;Lowe et al 1993;Marx et al 1997;Sigholt et al 1997;Thomas et al 1999;Parisi et al 2001). Often there are unavoidable situations where multiple stressors interact and affect the final condition.…”

Evaluation of different methods of stunning/killing sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax) by tissue stress/quality indicators

“…High levels of stress at death have been reported to cause violent reactions in fish, including increasing muscular activity and influencing the post mortem changes in rigor mortis onset and resolution, drop of muscle pH immediately after death (Izquierdo-Pulido et al 1992;Nakayama et al 1992;Sigholt et al 1997), and decrease of ATP reserves (Sikorski et al 1990;Tornberg et al 2000). As with terrestrial animals, a close relation between the stress suffered before and during slaughter and the quality of the final product are found in fish (Azam et al 1989;Erikson 1997;.…”

Stress Response to Long Distance Transportation of Common Carp (Cyprinus carpio L.)

“…The pre-rigor period must be long enough to ensure that bleeding, gutting, washing, chilling and packing take place before the onset of rigor mortis. Ante-mortem handling stress has also adverse effects on product quality such as reducing fish freshness and softening muscle texture (Izquierdo-Pulido et al 1992;Nakayama et al 1994).…”