Color and the lipid composition of pork muscles

The lipid characteristics of three porcine muscles were investigated. Included in the study were the light and dark portions of the semitendinosus muscle, the semimembranosus (light) and the quadriceps femoris (dark) muscles. The lipids from the semimembranosus and the quadriceps femoris muscles were observed to be statistically different. The light muscles were 20% higher in lipid level and these lipids contained 20% more glycerides and 40% less phospholipids than the dark muscles. The glycerides from both muscle lipids were identical in fatty acid composition but the phospholipid fatty acids differed significantly. The light muscle phospholipid fatty acids were higher in monoenes while the dark muscle phospholipids predominated in polyunsaturates. In the semitendinosus muscle, the light portion was 35% higher in lipid content than the dark portion but the compositions of the lipids from both areas were similar. When these data were compared to the values for the semimembranosus and the quadriceps femoris muscle lipids, the lipid characteristics were found to be intermediate of predominantly light or dark muscle lipids.