Histological Study of Glycogen Concentration in Fresh and Imported Frozen Chicken Meat

Abstract

Chicken meat is an important component for its high protein and low fat characteristics. The consumption of poultry meat has increased  and has reached high levels worldwide. Freezing is one of the methods of preserving meat and ensuring its quality until it reaches to the consumer. Through frozen storage, there are biochemical and physical modifications  as a result of bad degree of freezing and long storage period before reaching the consumer, which can influence the frozen chicken meat quality. The aims of  study are to determine the amount of glycogen content in the muscles of fresh and imported frozen chicken meat and to note the effect of  the freezing and storage on the glycogen content. 30 sample of chicken  muscles (leg, breast)  were taken from fresh and imported frozen  chicken. Collected from slaughter places and different markets of Wasit Governorate. The samples were divided into five chicken meat groups according to the type of source: fresh chicken, Iraqi frozen chicken, Iranian frozen chicken, Brazilian frozen chicken, Turkish frozen chicken. The histochemical method has been made by using Periodic acid Schiff's stain (PAS) to identify the glycogen content in the samples. The image analysis of histological results showed that  the glycogen content of  breast muscle in the fresh chicken was higher, followed by Iraqi, Iranian, Brazilian and lowest in Turkish chicken as recorded respectively (120.1, 116.0, 111.2, 106.4 and 98.9). likewise,  leg muscles of  fresh chicken showed that contain higher glycogen,  followed by  from  Iraq, Iran, Brazil and  Turkey  as percentage (118.4, 114.6, 109.2, 102.2 and 94.0). Additionally, the glycogen content in skeletal muscles of the breast was showed more than in comparison with skeletal muscle of the leg.