Relationships between H-1 NMR relaxation data and some technological parameters of meat: A chemometric approach

In this paper chemometrics (ANOVA and PCR) is used to measure unbiased corr elations between NMR spin-echo decays of pork M. Longissimus dorsi obtained through Carr-Purcell-Meiboom-Gill (CPMG) experiments at low frequency (20 MHz) and the values of 14 technological parameters commonly used to assess pork meat quality. On the basis of the ANOVA results, it is also found that the CPMG decays of meat cannot be best interpreted with a "discrete" model (i.e., by expanding the decays in a series of a discrete number of exponen tial components, each with a different transverse relaxation time), but rat her with a "continuous" model, by which a continuous distribution of T-2's is allowed. The latter model also agrees with literature histological resul ts. (C) 2000 Academic Press.