Abstract: Ordinary beef from Qinchuan cattle was used to study the effect of salting on beef fatty acid composition in this work. Beef was salted at different concentrations of slat (2, 4, 6, 8, 10 g/100 mL and 12 g/100 mL) and then analyzed for fat content and fatty acid composition. The results showed that salting had a significant effect on the composition of 16 fatty acids in beef (P ＜0.05). Low-level salt did not change total fat (P ＞ 0.05), saturated and unsaturated fatty acids in beef (P ＞ 0.05), but significantly decreased tetradecanoic acid (P ＜ 0.05) and increased linoleic acid and clupanodonic acid (P＜0.05). Furthermore, high-level salt significantly reduced fat content in beef (P ＜ 0.05), increased saturated fatty acid and reduced unsaturated fatty acid (P ＜ 0.05). Therefore, salting at low concentrations can obviously improve fat nutrition of Qinchuan ordinary beef.

Key words: Qinchuan cattle, rib meat brisket, salt, fatty acid