Microsoft Word - 1 Razvan RADU RUSU.doc


 
 

 

5 

 

journal homepage: www.fia.usv.ro/fiajournal 
Journal of Faculty of Food Engineering,  

Ştefan cel Mare University of Suceava, Romania  
Volume XII, Issue 1 – 2013, pag. 5 - 11 

 
 

 
 
 

CERTAIN TEXTURA L PR OPERTIES O F CH ICK EN M EA T, 
IN VES TIG ATED TH ROUG H HISTOLO GY AN D PHO TON IC 

M ICRO SCO PY TECH N IQU ES  
 
 

*Răzvan Mihail RADU-RUSU1, Ancuţa Elena PRISACARU (COŞULEANU)2  
Tahsin SADY HUSSEN3, Gabriel Vasile HOHA1 

 
1University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine, Animal Science Faculty,  

8 Mihail Sadoveanu Alley, 700489, Iaşi, Romania, rprobios@yahoo.com 
2”Ştefan cel Mare” University, Food Engineering Faculty, 13 Universităţii Str., 720229, Suceava, Romania 

3University of Salahadin, College of Agriculture, Animal Production Department, Erbil, Iraq 
* Corresponding author  

Received 10 January 2013, accepted 15 February 2013 
 

 
 
Abstract: This study is included within a wide range of researches regarding poultry meat quality, 
consisting in some comparative researches referring to the sensorial features of the skeletal 
musculature as well as to the nutritional value of the meat produced by several modern broiler 
brands: Cobb 500, Ross 308, Shaver Starbro, Hybro-PG. The results in the paper reveal some of the 
poultry muscles histological parameters: myocytes (muscle fibers) thickness and cross-section area, 
muscular fibers density, and, finally, the proportion of main tissues (pure muscular and connective) in 
whole muscle structure. 100 broilers (50♂ + 50♀), selected from a shelter accommodating 9500 Cobb 
500 chickens of 42 days old, served as biological material in order to elect the samples from five 
representative muscles: Pectoralis profundis et superficialis, Biceps brachii, Semimembranosus, 
Gastrocnemius medialis. The tissue samples were used to obtain histological smears on cross-section, 
which were then analyzed using photonic microscopy. White muscles (breast fillet) were found to have 
the highest values for the myocytes’ thickness (41.11µ), while the contractile cells of the red muscles 
were thinner (the thinnest within the brachial biceps – 27.9µ) and more dense per surface unit (≈1062 
myocytes/mm2 of muscle). The highest proportion of pure muscular tissue has been found in males’ 
Pectoralis superficialis muscles (65.22%). 
 
Keywords: chicken broiler, myocytes, density, texture, meat quality 
 
 
 
 
1. Introduction 
 
Scientific literature, mainly those 
publications dealing with human nutrition 
and customer safety, emphasizes on some 
aspects which pass over the quantitative 
side of meat production in poultry. While 
most of the data spread by the companies 
producing high value commercial broilers 
refers to some technological and 

economical features of their product 
(microclimate, nutritional requirements, 
weight gains, feed conversion ratio, 
slaughtering efficiency), this paper 
brings some partial results from a study 
onto the textural quality of the meat 
produced by high performance hybrids. 
One of the curiosities among scientists 
and practitioners in poultry industry is 
how carcass cuts develop in 



Food and Environment Safety - Journal of Faculty of Food Engineering, Ştefan cel Mare University - Suceava 
Volume XII, Issue 1 – 2013 

 
 

R Ă Z V A N  M I H A I L  R A D U - R U S U ,  A N C U Ţ A  E L E N A P R I S A C A R A  ( C O Ş U L E A N U ) ,   T A H S I N  S A D Y  HU S S E N ,  G A B R I E L  
V AS I L E  H O H A ,  C E R T A I N  T E X T U R A L  P R O P E R T I E S  OF  C H I C K E N  M E AT ,  I N V E S T I G A T E D  T H R O U G H  HI S T O L O G Y  A N D  
P H OT O N I C  M I C R O S C O P Y  T E C H N I Q U E S  ,  F o o d  a n d  E n v i r o n m e n t  S a f e t y ,  V o l u m e  X I I ,  I s s u e  1  –  2 0 1 3 ,  p a g .   5  -  1 1  

 6 

superintensive muscle growth during the 
normal 42 day rearing period – basing 
on muscle cell hypertrophy or on 
myocytes “hyperplasia” (increase of 
muscle cells amount per cross section 
tissual surface unit) [1]?. From poultry 
meat qualit y traits, texture is a useful 
parameter for food scientisits, because is 
straightly reşated to tenderness or 
toughness of meat. Usually, instrumental 
methods are used to assess tenderness on 
cooked meat (Warner-Bratzler, tensile 
tests, or Allo-Kramer Shear Press) [2, 3]. 
Other relevant parameter for meat 
tenderness in pre-rigor and post-rigor 
stages is the sarcomere length [4], also 
assessed through histological methods. 
Such techniques could also be applied in 
differentiating pale soft exudative (PSE) 
meat from normal meat and to determine 
the best ante mortem treatments for 
broilers in order to avoid PSE occurrence 
[5] Why not using histological techniques 
to assess the development tendency in 
meat structure, related to chickens age, 
genotype and rearing technique, in order to 
predict the tissual and textural features of 
the meat prior to commercial broiler 
choosing for intensive farming or prior to 
slaughterhouse options in relation with 
products needed to be processed starting 
from raw meat? The paper aims to reveal 
those histological techniques that might be 
used to predict textural and other 
technological properties of the meat. 
 
2. Experimental 
 
A group of 100 „Cobb 500” broilers (50 
males + 50 females), issued from a shelter 
accommodating 9500 chickens, have been 
used as biological material to sample five 
studied muscles: Pectoralis superficialis 
et profundis, Biceps brachii, 
Semimembranosus and Gastrocnemius 
medialis. The feed consisted in classical 
corn-soymeal diet (3012Kcal ME and 
24% CP - starter; 3175Kcal ME and 
22.5% CP - grower; 3226Kcal ME and 
20% CP - finisher). Muscular samples 
have been processed after techniques 

specified in literature [6, 7] through 
formalin 10% fixation, paraffin 
impregnation at +56° C, acid fuchsine and 
Evans blue coloration, resulting 
histological smears. These have been 
studied at a Motic DMWB1-223 photonic 
microscope, calibrated for three OBXOC 
associations: 10X10; 20X10 and 40X10. 
An ocular micrometer served to run the 
assessments, while an 8MP digital camera 
has been used to take microphotography 
shots, which were subsequentially 
processed in the Motic Images Plus ML 
software. The studies comprised 
cytometric and histometric measurements 
of myocytes and muscular fascicles, whose 
results have been introduced in several 
mathematical relations, in order to achieve 
some histological indexes: fibers mean 
thickness, cross section areas, myocytes 
density per muscular tissue unit, 
proportions of pure muscular/connective 
tissues. The formulas are listed below:  
*mean thickness:   2/)(xD dD  , 
meaning: D=large diameter, D=small 
diameter; 
*cross section area: 4/)S( 2   dD , 
meaning: π = 3.1416; 
*myocytes density:  

/MFI area..n m.f. 0000001
muscle) ofmm(myocites/ dens. M. 2


 , 

meaning: n m.f. = amount of muscular 
fibers per 1st order muscular fascicle 
(MFI), MFI area = area of the measured 1st 
order muscular fascicle (mm2); 
* tissual categories proportion:  

MFI aream.f. arean m.f. /100(%) MT   
)100(%) CT -MT (% , meaning: MT (%) 

proportion of pure muscular tissue; CT (%) 
proportion of connective tissue, m.f. area= 
myocytes area (µ2). 
The achieved average values of the studied 
parameters have been statistically 
processed running the ANOVA single 
factor algorithm. 
 
3. Results and Discussion 
 
Figure 1 presents screenshots from 
microscopic field, while Table 1 and 



Food and Environment Safety - Journal of Faculty of Food Engineering, Ştefan cel Mare University - Suceava 
Volume XII, Issue 1 – 2013 

 
 

R Ă Z V A N  M I H A I L  R A D U - R U S U ,  A N C U Ţ A  E L E N A P R I S A C A R A  ( C O Ş U L E A N U ) ,   T A H S I N  S A D Y  HU S S E N ,  G A B R I E L  
V AS I L E  H O H A ,  C E R T A I N  T E X T U R A L  P R O P E R T I E S  OF  C H I C K E N  M E AT ,  I N V E S T I G A T E D  T H R O U G H  HI S T O L O G Y  A N D  
P H OT O N I C  M I C R O S C O P Y  T E C H N I Q U E S  ,  F o o d  a n d  E n v i r o n m e n t  S a f e t y ,  V o l u m e  X I I ,  I s s u e  1  –  2 0 1 3 ,  p a g .   5  -  1 1  

 7 

Figures 2-4 reveal data concerning 
dimensional features of the muscular 
fibers, their density within muscles an also 
the proportion of pure muscular and 
connective tissues. Mean myocytes 
diameter in the Pectoralis superficialis 
muscles has been found of 35.22±0.46µ at 
cockerels and of 35.29±0.29µ at pullets. 
Muscular fibers were thicker into the 
profound pectoral muscles, both in males 
and females (41.11±0.56µ and 

36.51±0.45µ) and distinguished statistical 
significance occurred. The homogeneity 
was average (V=10.91-13.63%). As 
compared to breast fillet (white muscles), 
the texture of red studied muscles proved 
to be thinner. The lowest values for 
muscular fibers diameter were measured 
within the Biceps brachialis samples 
(26.51±0.34µ at pullets and 27.90±0.38µ at 
cockerels) (v% varied between 12.72-
13.72%).  

Table 1 
Myocytes thickness, density and proportion of main tissual categories within 

some of the breast, wings, thighs and drumsticks muscles 
Studied 
muscles 

Broilers 
gender Statistics 

Myocytes 
mean 

thickness (µ) 

Myocytes density  
(myocytes 

/mm2 of muscle) 

Pure  
muscular tissue 

(MT%) 

Connective 
tissue 

(CT%) 
x  35.22 683.90 d 
±

xs  0.46 18.02 ♂ 
V% 12.93 13.18 

65.22 d 34.78 a 

x  35.29 583.73 a 
±

xs  0.39 20.12 P
ec

to
ra

l i
s 

su
pe

rf
ic

ia
lis

 

♀ 
V% 10.91 17.24 

56.12 a 43.88 d 

x  41.11 d 407.51 a 
±

xs  0.56 18.18 ♂ 
V% 13.63 22.31 

53.49 a 46.51 b 

x  36.51 a 604.46 d 
±

xs  0.45 36.60 P
ec

to
ra

l i
s 

pr
of

un
di

s 

♀ 
V% 12.28 30.28 

62.56 b 37.44 a 

x  27.90  c 838.25 a 
±

xs  0.38 27.42 ♂ 
V% 13.72 16.36 

50.43 a 49.57 b 

x  26.51 a 1061.94 d 
±

xs  0.34 47.72 

B
ic

ep
s 

 
br

ac
hi

i 

♀ 
V% 12.72 22.47 

58.19 b 41.81 a 

x  30.89 a 801.63 d 
±

xs  0.32 28.06 ♂ 
V% 10.41 17.50 

59.16 40.84 

x  32.44 b 722.01 a 
±

xs  0.28 15.70 

Se
m

i-
m

em
br

an
os

us
 

♀ 
V% 8.64 10.88 

58.81 41.19 

x  29.77 a 810.15 d 
±

xs  0.41 32.31 ♂ 
V% 13.88 19.94 

56.20 43.80 

x  37.38 d 518.34 a 
±

xs  0.38 19.59 G
as

tr
oc

ne
m

iu
s 

m
ed

ia
lis

 

♀ 
V% 10.15 18.90 

56.49 43.51 

ANOVA test – applied to each studied variable and muscle, as compared between genders, per 
column: ab significant differences ( F̂ >F α 0.05); ac distinguished significant differences ( F̂ >F α 0.01); 
ad high significant differences ( F̂ >F α 0.001) 



Food and Environment Safety - Journal of Faculty of Food Engineering, Ştefan cel Mare University - Suceava 
Volume XII, Issue 1 – 2013 

 
 

R Ă Z V A N  M I H A I L  R A D U - R U S U ,  A N C U Ţ A  E L E N A P R I S A C A R A  ( C O Ş U L E A N U ) ,   T A H S I N  S A D Y  HU S S E N ,  G A B R I E L  
V AS I L E  H O H A ,  C E R T A I N  T E X T U R A L  P R O P E R T I E S  OF  C H I C K E N  M E AT ,  I N V E S T I G A T E D  T H R O U G H  HI S T O L O G Y  A N D  
P H OT O N I C  M I C R O S C O P Y  T E C H N I Q U E S  ,  F o o d  a n d  E n v i r o n m e n t  S a f e t y ,  V o l u m e  X I I ,  I s s u e  1  –  2 0 1 3 ,  p a g .   5  -  1 1  

 8 

 

  
Pectoralis superficialis (breast) 

  
Pectoralis profundis (breast) 

  
Biceps brachialis (wing) 

  
Semimembranosus (thigh) 

  
Gastrocnemius medialis (shank – drumstick) 

Figure 1. Muscle fibers (myocites) and 1st order muscular fascicles in skeletal muscles of chicken broilers 
(100 x magnification, OC 10xOB 10, sampling: left-males, right-females) 



Food and Environment Safety - Journal of Faculty of Food Engineering, Ştefan cel Mare University - Suceava 
Volume XII, Issue 1 – 2013 

 
 

R Ă Z V A N  M I H A I L  R A D U - R U S U ,  A N C U Ţ A  E L E N A P R I S A C A R A  ( C O Ş U L E A N U ) ,   T A H S I N  S A D Y  HU S S E N ,  G A B R I E L  
V AS I L E  H O H A ,  C E R T A I N  T E X T U R A L  P R O P E R T I E S  OF  C H I C K E N  M E AT ,  I N V E S T I G A T E D  T H R O U G H  HI S T O L O G Y  A N D  
P H OT O N I C  M I C R O S C O P Y  T E C H N I Q U E S  ,  F o o d  a n d  E n v i r o n m e n t  S a f e t y ,  V o l u m e  X I I ,  I s s u e  1  –  2 0 1 3 ,  p a g .   5  -  1 1  

 9 

The ANOVA test applied to red muscles 
cytometric values revealed various levels 
of statistically significance between 
genders: significant differences for thighs 
muscles (Semimembranosus, thicker fibers 
in females); distinguished significance for 

wings muscles (Biceps brachialis, thicker 
fibers in males) and high significant 
differences between drumsticks muscles 
(Gastrocnemius medialis, thicker fibers in 
females).  

 

35.22 35.29

41.11

36.51

27.9
26.51

30.89
32.44

29.77

37.38

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

PSM PSF PPM PPF BBM BBF SMM SMF GCMM GCMF

M
ea

n 
th

ic
kn

es
s 

of
 th

e 
m

us
cu

la
r 

fib
er

s 
(µ

)

        

683.9

583.73

407.51

604.46

838.25

1061.94

801.63

722.01

810.15

518.34

0

200

400

600

800

1000

PSM PSF PPM PPF BBM BBF SMM SMF GCMM GCMF

M
yo

ci
te

s 
de

ns
ity

(m
.f.

/m
m

2)

 
   Figure 2. Mean thickness of the myocytes (µ)               Figure 3. Myocytes density (m.f./mm2 of muscle) 

(PS = Pectoralis superficialis; PP = Pectoralis profundis; BB = Biceps brachii; SM = Semimembranosus;  
GC = Gastrocnemius medialis;  M=muscles from males, F=muscles from females) 

 
Mal e s

34.78

65.22

Pure muscular tis sue
Connective tissue

Fe m al e s

56.12
43.88

Pure mus cular tiss ue
Connective tis sue        

Mal e s

46.51 53.49

Pure muscular tissue
Connective tissue

Fe m al e s

62.56

37.44

Pure mus cular tiss ue
Connective tissue  

              Pectoralis superficialis muscles          Pectoralis profundis muscles 
 

Male s

50.4349.57

Pure muscular tis s ue
Connective tis sue

Fem al e s

58.19

41.81

Pure mus cular tis s ue
Connective tis s ue        

Mal e s

59.16

40.84

Pure muscular tis sue
Connective tis sue

Fe mal e s

58.81

41.19

Pure muscular tis sue
Connective tissue  

                        Biceps brachii  muscles       Semimembranosus muscles 
 

Mal e s

56.20
43.80

Pure mus cular tis sue
Connective tissue

 

Fe m al e s

56.49
43.51

Pure mus cular tis sue
Connective tissue   

Gastrocnemius medialis muscles 
Figure 4. Proportions of pure muscular and connective tissues within breast, wing, thigh and 

drumstick muscles (%)



Food and Environment Safety - Journal of Faculty of Food Engineering, Ştefan cel Mare University - Suceava 
Volume XII, Issue 1 – 2013 

 
 

R Ă Z V A N  M I H A I L  R A D U - R U S U ,  A N C U Ţ A  E L E N A P R I S A C A R A  ( C O Ş U L E A N U ) ,   T A H S I N  S A D Y  HU S S E N ,  G A B R I E L  
V AS I L E  H O H A ,  C E R T A I N  T E X T U R A L  P R O P E R T I E S  OF  C H I C K E N  M E AT ,  I N V E S T I G A T E D  T H R O U G H  HI S T O L O G Y  A N D  
P H OT O N I C  M I C R O S C O P Y  T E C H N I Q U E S  ,  F o o d  a n d  E n v i r o n m e n t  S a f e t y ,  V o l u m e  X I I ,  I s s u e  1  –  2 0 1 3 ,  p a g .   5  -  1 1  

 10 

Myocytes density values varied conversely 
than those obtained for the average 
diameter. Thus, the lowest density could be 
observed into the males Pectoralis 
profundis muscles (407.51±18.18 
m.f./mm2), while highest amount of 
muscular fibers has been found into the 
pullets Biceps brachialis muscles (1061.94 
m.f./mm2). Very significant differences 
occurred for all studied muscles, when 
both genders were compared. Widest 
variation amplitude of the differences 
between cockerels and pullets was 
observed in Gastrocnemius medialis 
muscles (513.84 m.f./mm2 in females and 
810.15 m.f./mm2 in males). The calculated 
variability showed high heterogenic 
characteristics (V=10.88-30.28%). The 
acquired data are consistent with those 
previously reported by other scientists [8], 
which showed higher myofibres density in 
males, in most analysed skeletal muscles 
of commercial broiler strains. 
Proportions of main tissual categories in 
muscles structure revealed that highest 
amount of pure muscular tissue was found 
into the superficial pectoral muscles at 
males (65.22%) and into the profound 
pectoral muscles at females (62.56%). 
Very high significant differences occurred 
between genders when Pectoralis 
superficialis muscles have been compared, 
while other significant differences have 
been observed for cockerels vs. pullets 
Pectoralis profundis and Biceps brachialis 
comparisons. 
Thinnest texture has been observed in 
Biceps brachialis muscles, while the 
thickest fibers have been measured within 
the Pectoralis profundis muscles, fact also 
observed during mastication. These results 
confirm that those myocytes having mainly 
glycolitical metabolism, usually found in 
white muscles (pectorals) are thicker than 
those with oxidative preponderant 
metabolism (red muscles – limbs) which 
have higher density [9, 10]. As compared 
to chicken broilers, in waterfowl domestic 
species (duck and goose), all skeletal 

muscles are mainly made of red fibers, 
which are thicker in wings [11, 12, 13]. 
Although previous researches recommend 
pectoral muscles as high qualitative, 
mainly concerning the physical, chemical 
and nutritional features (pH value, high 
protein content, low energy level) [14, 15, 
16, 17], these researches showed that, for 
COBB-500 broilers, textural features are 
better in red muscles (especially in wings 
and thighs ones), which have, 
consequently, improved tenderness. 
   
 
4. Conclusion  
 
The quality sensorial features of meat 
(texture, tenderness, flavour) are 
influenced by the dimensional myocytes 
features, as well as by the proportion 
between main tissual categories and by 
lipids content, hence the possibility and 
usefulness in applying histological and 
microscopy methods in assessing them.  
Further researches have to be carried on, in 
order to elect those components of the 
connective tissue which affect tenderness 
(eg. % of collagen, % of adipous tissue 
etc.), as another goal to reach in 
commercial broilers meat quality 
knowledge. 
 
5. Acknowledgments  
 
The authors wish to thank Prof. Vasile 
TEUŞAN, PhD, from Animal Science 
Faculty, U.A.S.V.M. Iaşi, for sharing his 
expertise in histology processing and 
microscopy analysis. 
 
6. References 
 
[1]. VELLEMAN S.G., NESTOR K.E., COY 
C.S., HARFORD I., ANTHONY N.B., Effect of 
Posthatch Feed Restriction on Broiler Breast 
Muscle Development and Muscle Transcriptional 
Regulatory Factor Gene and Heparan Sulfate 
Proteoglycan Expression. International Journal of 
Poultry Science, 9(5).417-425, (2010). 



Food and Environment Safety - Journal of Faculty of Food Engineering, Ştefan cel Mare University - Suceava 
Volume XII, Issue 1 – 2013 

 
 

R Ă Z V A N  M I H A I L  R A D U - R U S U ,  A N C U Ţ A  E L E N A P R I S A C A R A  ( C O Ş U L E A N U ) ,   T A H S I N  S A D Y  HU S S E N ,  G A B R I E L  
V AS I L E  H O H A ,  C E R T A I N  T E X T U R A L  P R O P E R T I E S  OF  C H I C K E N  M E AT ,  I N V E S T I G A T E D  T H R O U G H  HI S T O L O G Y  A N D  
P H OT O N I C  M I C R O S C O P Y  T E C H N I Q U E S  ,  F o o d  a n d  E n v i r o n m e n t  S a f e t y ,  V o l u m e  X I I ,  I s s u e  1  –  2 0 1 3 ,  p a g .   5  -  1 1  

 11 

[2]. LYON B.G., LYON C.E. Meat quality: 
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SCHNEIDER J.P., MACEDO R.M., IDA E.I., 
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[11]. RADU-RUSU R.M., TEUŞAN V., VOICU 
P., Researches concerning the thickness and the 
cross-section area of the miocytes in the domestic 
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[15]. RADU-RUSU R.M., BOIŞTEANU P.C., 
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