Collagen connective tissue in longissimus dorsi and semitendinosus muscles of Aceh cattle

Increasing the quantity of Aceh beef must be accompanied by an increase in quality. Collagen connective tissue is one of the factors that affect meat tenderness. Evaluation of collagen connective tissue in Indonesian local beef cattle muscles has not been widely reported, including Aceh cattle. The aim in this study is to analyze the characteristics of the collagen connective tissue in the longissimus dorsi (LD) and the semitendinosus muscle (ST). The study used the LL and ST muscles of three adult Aceh bull that were taken from abattoirs. Samples were fixed and processed into histological preparations and stained with picrosirius red staining. The result showed that meat derived from the ST meat contained more collagen connective tissue than the longissimus dorsi muscle. Collagen connective tissue is distributed in the endomysium and perimysium layers of both muscles. The conclusion is that the longgissimus dorsi muscle has less collagen connective tissue content than the semitendinosus muscle, which is more highly distributed in the perimysial layer of both muscles. The research is expected to be able to promote and support Aceh cattle as the main livestock of customer choice for breeding and consumption.