Capillary electrophoresis for bovine and ostrich meat characterisation

The objective of this study was to characterise, compare and quantify the water soluble protein (WSP) and salt soluble protein (SSP) fractions from bovine and ostrich muscle by using sodium dodecyl sulphate polymer-filled capillary gel electrophoresis (CE-SDS). Samples were raw ostrich leg and eye round beef collected 24 and 48 h, respectively, after sacrifice from local slaughter houses. WSP were extracted with cold double distilled deionized water and SSP with 0.6 M NaCl/0.01 M phosphate buffer pH 6 with 0.5% polyphosphates. Separation of WSP and SSP extracts was achieved by CE-SDS. Quantitative data for individual proteins was generated by constructing a calibration curve using bovine serum albumin (BSA) as a standard. The WSP profiles showed differences for bovine and ostrich meat, both qualitatively and quantitatively and could be employed for species differentiation. Quantitative data derived for WSP and SSP from bovine and ostrich muscle showed significant differences among individual proteins. A comparison of protein profiles form ostrich and bovine meat should be useful for meat species differentiation and muscle characterisation for establishing relations to meat quality.