Effect of antemortem electrical stunning on functional properties of turkey muscle

Muscle samples were collected from two groups of turkeys, one group electrically stunned before exsanguination and the other group nonstunned. Sampling was done at 0, 4, 8, and 24 h postmortem. Examination of muscle samples for glycogen, pH, adenosine triphosphate (ATP), R value (ratio of inosine nucleotides to adenosine nucleotides), and extractable protein demonstrated that glycolysis was delayed by electrical stunning. Muscle myofibrils, however, showed no effect of stunning on Mg++-ATPase, sulfhydryls, or sodium dodecylsulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis patterns. Functional properties of the muscle as measured by emulsion stability evaluations showed greater stability in prerigor muscle but no significant effect of stunning. The results indicate that although electrical stunning delayed glycolysis, the overall effect was not great enough to be a significant factor in improvement of functional properties of muscle for further processing.