The Effect of Ante-Mortem Injection of Papain on Tenderness of Chickens

THE effect of the administration of papain by ante-mortem injection in meat animals has been investigated by Beuk et al. (1959) and Palmer et al. (1957). According to Beuk et al. (1959), a tenderizing effect resulted when papain was injected ante-mortem into chickens, sheep, goats and cattle; a shorter ante-mortem time was required for tenderization when the papain was injected into the blood stream than when the injection was made into the peritoneal cavity. Ante-mortem treatments were administrated from two minutes to two hours before slaughter for an intravenous injection and from six to 24 hours for an intraperitoneal injection. Thomas (1956) reported that a more purified crystalline papain did not produce the same histological changes as a crude papain preparation when injected in rabbits. Thus, the report introduced the possible additive effect of an enzyme activator present in the crude preparation but not in the crystalline preparation. The purpose…