C-reactive protein measurements in meat juice of pigs

Vet Immunol Immunopathol. 2008 Apr 15;122(3-4):250-5. doi: 10.1016/j.vetimm.2008.01.002. Epub 2008 Jan 16.

Abstract

A time-resolved immunofluorometric assay was evaluated for measurement of C-reactive protein in meat juice from diaphragmatic muscle collected from slaughtered pigs. Analytical and clinical validation of the method was performed by using meat juice samples, obtained by freezing and thawing muscle pieces. The intra- and inter-assay coefficients of variation ranged from 2.2-5.8% to 7.9-14.3%, respectively. The limit of detection was 0.00038 microg/ml. The method measured the CRP concentrations in a linear manner with a good accuracy (r=0.99). CRP concentrations in serum were highly correlated with those in diaphragmatic meat juice (r=0.90; p<0.001). CRP concentrations were significantly higher in clinically affected pigs compared to non-diseased pigs. The assay described here provides a sensitive method for measuring CRP concentrations in meat juice, which can represent a suitable alternative to serum or blood samples and simplifies the process of sampling collection at slaughter.

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Body Fluids / chemistry
  • C-Reactive Protein / chemistry*
  • C-Reactive Protein / metabolism
  • Diaphragm / chemistry
  • Inflammation / metabolism
  • Meat / analysis*
  • Muscle, Skeletal / chemistry
  • Reproducibility of Results
  • Sensitivity and Specificity
  • Swine
  • Swine Diseases / metabolism

Substances

  • C-Reactive Protein