A Review of the Effect of Postmortem Muscle Energy Metabolism on Meat Quality

Meat quality characteristics such as color, tenderness and water-holding capacity are always important factors affecting consumer willingness to purchase meat. Muscle energy metabolism can affect the growth, development and aging process of meat, and ultimately meat quality. The phosphocreatine system, the glycolysis pathway and oxidative phosphorylation are the main sources of ATP in muscle and play a major role in different postmortem phases. The internal environment of muscles changes after animals are slaughtered for bloodletting, and different energy supply modes will affect the energy metabolism process, thus affecting the conversion of muscle to meat. This paper reviews the pathways of postmortem muscle energy metabolism and the effects of energy metabolism on the development of meat quality. It also highlights the effects of AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) and silent information regulators (SIRTs) on the metabolic process. The findings of this review can provide new ideas for regulating the development of meat quality through energy metabolism.