Chemical Composition of African Savanna Buffalo (Syncerus caffer) Meat

Abstract

African buffaloes (Syncerus caffer) are hunted for their trophies and the meat is seen as a secondary product. Little information exists on the chemical composition of buffalo meat or the effect that sex and muscle type may have thereupon. In the present investigation, eight male and four female buffalo that were found to be positive for tuberculosis (Mycobacterium bovis) were culled and the chemical composition of their meat determined. Although male buffalo meat had higher moisture and protein than females, these differences were small and it is debatable whether a consumer would notice such differences. The amount of fat (<2 g/100g) and ash did not differ between sexes. Similarly, the differences in the proximate composition of the Biceps femoris, Longissimus dorsi and Semimembranosus muscles were all also <1 g/100 g meat. Sex had no effect on the amino acid composition of the muscles but alanine, valine and histidine content differed between muscle types although the differences were <1 g/100 g protein. The fatty acid (FA) composition did not differ between sexes or muscle type. Oleic acid was the dominant FA followed by linoleic and palmitic acids. The FA had similar ratios of saturated FA (∼38%), mono-unsaturated FA (∼31%) and poly-unsaturated FA (∼29%). The low fat to protein ratio and a poly-unsaturated to saturated FA ratio of >0.7 indicates that buffalo meat is a lean, healthy and condensed protein source.