Skip to main content
ARS Home » Southeast Area » Athens, Georgia » U.S. National Poultry Research Center » Quality and Safety Assessment Research Unit » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #422814
Research Project: Assessment of Quality Attributes of Poultry Products, Grain, Seed, Nuts, and Feed

Location: Quality and Safety Assessment Research Unit

Title: Alterations in the water properties of wooden breast fillets during the first 24 h postmortem

Author
item CHOI, JANGHAN - Orise Fellow
item SHAKERI, MAJID - Orise Fellow
item Harris, Caitlin
item Buhr, Richard
item KIM, WOO - University Of Georgia
item Kong, Byungwhi
item Bowker, Brian
item Zhuang, Hong

Submitted to: Meat and Muscle Biology
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 9/24/2025
Publication Date: 10/2/2025
Citation: Choi, J., Shakeri, M., Harris, C.E., Buhr, R.J., Kim, W.K., Kong, B.C., Bowker, B.C., Zhuang, H. 2025. Alterations in the water properties of wooden breast fillets during the first 24 h postmortem. Meat and Muscle Biology. 9:(1). https://doi.org/10.22175/mmb.19223.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.22175/mmb.19223

Interpretive Summary: Wooden breast (WB) is a prevalent muscle myopathy in broiler chickens that negatively impacts breast meat sensory traits and consumer acceptance. Time-domain nuclear magnetic resonance (TD-NMR) is a rapid, non-destructive technique that can assess changes in water mobility and distribution within muscle, providing insight into the relationship between muscle water properties and meat quality. Using TD-NMR this study demonstrated that alterations in muscle water properties during the first 24 h postmortem are closely related to the inferior water-holding characteristics of WB meat.

Technical Abstract: The purpose of the study was to investigate alterations in water properties of normal broiler breast fillets (N) and wooden breast (WB) fillets during the first 24 h postmortem. A total of 15 normal (no WB) broiler breast fillets and 15 fillets with severe WB condition were collected in three independent replicates (5 fillets/condition/replicate). Immediately following electrical stunning and bleeding, broiler breast fillets were deboned and chilled on ice. Water properties of breast meat, including time constant (T), proportion (P), and abundance per 100 g of meat (A), were measured using time domain nuclear magnetic resonance (TD-NMR) throughout the first 24 h postmortem. The effects of WB condition, postmortem time, and their interactions were analyzed using two-way ANOVA with repeated measures. Segmented linear regression was employed to calculate the slopes and inflection time points. Changes in four water populations were analyzed. During the first 3 h postmortem the abundance of extramyofibrillar water with a greater relaxation time decreased, the abundance of intramyofibrillar water increased, and purge loss increased regardless of meat condition. Changes in the proportion and abundance of water populations were completed earlier in WB fillets compared to N fillets. WB fillets exhibited greater purge loss than N fillets during the early postmortem phase, possibly attributable to increased total water content and greater extramyofibrillar water abundance. Data suggest that differences in water property dynamics early postmortem may be responsible for inferior water-holding capacity in WB meat.