Determination of the Iron Content of the Muscle and Organ Meats from a Cow Carcass
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.33003/fjs-2026-1011-4370Keywords:
Iron content, Cow carcass, Haem iron, Non-haem iron, Muscle meat, Organ meat, Moisture content, Crude proteinAbstract
Iron is an essential micronutrient for all animal species, and its deficiency causes fatigue, poor growth, impaired cognition, and anaemia. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that anaemia affects approximately 30% of the global population, with iron deficiency as the primary cause. This work sought to provide data on the protein, iron and moisture content of the muscle and organ meats of a cow carcass, using atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS) to determine non-haem iron and spectrophotometry to determine haem iron. Results showed that the lungs exhibited the highest moisture content (83.91 ± 1.37 %) while the spleen had the lowest (73.79 ± 2.24 %), with a statistically significant difference (p<0.05). Muscle meat exhibited the highest crude protein (18.63 ± 1.06 %), followed by spleen (18.51 ± 0.91 %) and liver (17.26 ± 0.73 %); kidney demonstrated the lowest (13.99 ± 1.09 %), with lungs and heart showing similarly low levels (p>0.05). The spleen had the highest haem iron (247.53 ± 5.91 µg haematin/g meat) and non-haem iron (586.07 ± 22.31 mg/kg), with significant differences (p<0.05). The heart demonstrated the lowest haem iron (128.95 ± 8.10 µg haematin/g meat), closely followed by lungs (132.61 ± 4.16 µg haematin/g meat), with no significant difference (p>0.05), while the kidney had the lowest non-haem iron (117.87 ± 6.96 mg/kg), (p<0.05). Conclusively, both muscle and organ meats (liver, spleen) are rich in protein, while iron contents were higher in the organs (spleen, liver), with the spleen being significantly (p<0.05) higher.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Ijeoma Okolo, Muhammad S. Shehu, Adeyemi O. Owolabi, Nasihatu Abubakar
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