Hemoglobin and myoglobin content in muscles of broiler chickens

The two main heme proteins, hemoglobin and myoglobin, are important factors determining meat quality aspects such as color and hemorrhage. The extent of hemorrhage in muscle tissue can probably be determined by measuring the hemoglobin content. The objective of this study was twofold: 1) to develop a specific and reproducible method to quantify the hemoglobin and myoglobin content in muscle tissue of broiler chickens, and 2) to study the effect of hemorrhage on the hemoglobin content in muscle tissue. We tested several methods to determine the total heme, hemoglobin, and myoglobin content in broiler chicken muscles on their specificity, sensitivity, and reproducibility. Methods based on immunological techniques appeared to be very specific and sensitive. The results obtained applying these methods on muscle tissue extracts were, however, not reproducible due to concentration effects. A combination of spectrophotometric analysis of the total heme protein concentration and measurement of the myoglobin concentration, applying size exclusion chromatography, proved to be a reliable and reproducible method to determine the hemoglobin and myoglobin content in chicken muscles. The total heme, hemoglobin, and myoglobin contents were related to muscle type. Extensive hemorrhage increased the hemoglobin content.