Dietary ?-lipoic acid supplementation improves postmortem color stability of the lamb muscles through changing muscle fiber types and antioxidative status

This study investigated the effect of dietary alpha-lipoic acid (600 mg/kg) supplementation on the postmortem color stability of the biceps femoris from lambs. The results showed that dietary alpha-lipoic acid supplementation increased a* and decreased b* and metmyoglobin (MMb) percentage of the biceps femoris with the time of storage (P < 0.05). The content of malondialdehyde (MDA) reduced with the time of storage after treatment with alpha-lipoic acid (P < 0.05). alpha-lipoic acid increased the myoglobin (Mb) content, and myosin heavy chain I (MyHC I) gene expression but decreased glycogen content, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) activity, and MyHC IIb gene expression (P < 0.05). The T-AOC value, catalase (CAT) activity, and expression of SOD and CAT gene expression increased after alpha-lipoic acid treatment (P < 0.05). Therefore, dietary alpha-lipoic acid supplementation improved the meat color by regulating muscle fiber types and inhibited glycolysis. Moreover, alpha-lipoic acid maintained meat color stability by effectively inhibiting muscle oxidation via enhancing the antioxidant capacity

Automated summary

Dietary supplementation of alpha-lipoic acid improves the color of meat by regulating muscle fiber types and inhibiting glycolysis. It also maintains the stability of meat color by effectively inhibiting muscle oxidation through enhancing antioxidant capacity.