Effect of muscle and post-mortem rate of pH and temperature fall on antioxidant enzyme activities in beef.

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of muscle, inner and outer Musculus biceps femoris (IBF and OBF respectively) and Musculus longissimus dorsi (LD), on the post-mortem rate of pH and temperature fall, and the activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) during simulated retail display. At day 0 of display (2 days post-mortem), the CAT and GSH-Px activities were lower in IBF than in OBF and LD (P<0.001), and the SOD activity was lower in OBF compared to IBF and LD (P<0.