The Relationship between Serum Lipoprotein Levels and Marbling of Muscle Tissue in Beef Cattle

Abstract

The relationship between serum lipoprotein levels and the grades of marbling in muscle tissue was analyzed by gel filtration of lipoprotein fraction obtained from sera of 80 Japanese black beef cattle in the final stage of fattening. It was found that the increase in the Beef Marbling Standard number was positively correlated with the concentration of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (r=0.79) and negatively with that of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (r=-0.47).