The objective of this experiment was to determine the effect of prerigor injection of several glycolytic inhibitors on pH, color, tenderness, and related traits of low-value beef cuts. The semimembranosus, triceps brachii, and supraspinatus muscles from each of 10 steer carcasses were removed 1 h postmortem. Control samples remained in the carcass at 2°C for 24 h. Prerigor muscles were injected and tumbled with 10% (by weight) of one of four solutions: sodium citrate (NaC; 200mM), sodium fluoride (NaF; 200mM), sodium acetate (NaA; 200 mM), and calcium chloride (CaCl2; 300 mM). All muscles treated with NaC and NaF showed the highest pH and glycogen content (P \u3c 0.05), indicating that glycolysis was inhibited. Injection of NaC in semimembranosus and supraspinatus produced the tenderest meat (P \u3c 0.05), showing a greater increase in tenderization at 3 d than at 7 d postmortem. Treatment did not affect color or oxidation-reduction potential, but all treated muscles tended to be more oxidative (higher oxidation-reduction potential). Sodium citrate was identified as a potential compound to enhance tenderness of prerigor muscle without altering color. Further studies are required to investigate its effect on palatability traits and to provide a basis for commercial application of the process
