Abstract:To clarify the quality differences of meat from different parts of Tibetan sheep and enhance the added value of Tibetan sheep meat, the meat quality and histological characteristics of 20 parts of Tibetan sheep were examined and compared. The parts analyzed included chuck roll, ribeye, thin flank, sirloin tip, blade chop, lamb belly, stew meat cut, front shank, neck meat, shoulder meat, brisket, shoulder strip, hind shank, round tendon, knuckle, striploin, tri-tip, blade steak, and rib meat. Multivariate statistical analysis of these parts was also conducted. The results revealed variability in the textural properties, pH, cooking loss, meat color, myofibrillar protein properties, and histological characteristics among different parts of meat from Tibetan sheep. Correlation analysis showed that the hardness of meat from Tibetan sheep parts was highly significantly positively correlated with the cross-sectional area of individual myofibers, myofiber diameter, shear force, and chewability (P ≤ 0.01); pH was significantly negatively correlated with cooking loss (P ≤ 0.05). According to principal component analysis, five principal component factors were identified, comprising PC1: texture factor (27.07%), PC2 and PC5: color factors (25.57% and 8.66%), PC3: water holding factor (12.09%), and PC4: hardness factor (8.81%). Subsequently, a comprehensive quality evaluation model from different meat parts of Tibetan sheep was established. The results showed that texture and color were the main indices useful for evaluating the quality of Tibetan sheep meat. These results provide a theoretical basis for the quality evaluation and deep processing of Tibetan sheep meat.