Effect of Tissue Composition and Microstructure on Rabbit Meat Optical Properties.

To facilitate the design of optics detecting system for rabbit meat quality, nine rabbits of different ages, weights, and varieties were used to collect optical coefficient, composition, and microstructure of External Oblique Muscle (EOM) and Internal Oblique Muscle (IOM) samples to research the link of them. The result showed that the rabbit's age had significant influences(P<0.05) on the absorption coefficient (μa) and the proportion of myoglobin of IOM and EOM, and the older the rabbits were, the greater the μa and proportion of myoglobin were. The weight significantly (P<0.05) influenced muscle fiber cross-sectional area. The age and weight had a significant (P<0.05) influence on the reduced scattering coefficient (μs'). The linear fitting results between the relative proportion of myoglobin and the μa showed that the higher the myoglobin content, the greater the μa. The linear fitting results between the cross-sectional area of muscle fiber and the μs' showed that the smaller the cross-sectional area of muscle fiber, the greater the μs'. These results will be helpful to intuitively understand the working principle of spectral technology in meat quality detection.