Effect of the moringa leaves extract on the tenderization of Longissimus muscle in Indonesian native goats

Meat tenderization techniques often involve time-consuming processes or chemical additives that may raise health concerns or alter the taste of meat. Exploring alternative natural methods, such as utilizing proteolytic enzymes derived from moringa, presents an opportunity to address these limitations. Studies on moringa have been limited, especially those focusing on goat meat tenderization, leaving a gap in understanding how moringa affects this process. The research aims to bridge this gap by systematically examining how protease enzymes from moringa leaves can tenderize goat meat. The research was performed on goat meat samples (100 g of meat per sample) treated with the moringa leaves extract (prepared from 20 g of moringa leaves with 60 ml of distilled water) at different storage times (2, 24, and 46 hours), as well as a control sample without any additive. The results showed that the moringa leaves extract did not significantly alter pH values and increased cooking loss for the 24-hour treatment (44.3 %) and 46-hour treatment (39.8 %) compared to the control (36.8 %). Color analysis showed increased lightness (L*) and redness (a*). The yellowness (b*) showed considerable difference between the control and the 24-hour samples compared with the 2-hour and 46-hour samples. The moringa leaves extract significantly reduced tenderness by lowering hardness, gumminess, resilience, and chewiness. This research advances environmentally friendly, renewable solutions in the food industry because the food industry produces significant quantities of meat by-products and waste during processing. This research will reduce waste by transforming tougher or less desirable meat cuts into more tender and valuable products.

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