Estimation of the base line imagined as a muscular background for myoglobin determination by reflectance spectrometry

Liquid extraction method for determination of myoglobin in muscle is not suitable because of changes in the derivatives and time required. Optical reflectance method is useful as a non‐destructive and real‐time measurement. However, the base line of reflectance method, the muscular reflectance background (MRB) imagined as colorless structural elements, has been unknown because of non‐existence. The spectrum of the base line was analyzed as the analogy of bleached meat. A formula was derived for reflectance that had a linear relationship to the reciprocal of wavelength to the power 4. The reflectance characteristic of the MRB was not constant and the curve tended to rise with increasing wavelength. The reflectance at 700 nm was estimated to be 50%. By the characteristic analysis on Commission Internationale l’Eclairage color values and reciprocal reflectance, it was concluded that the reflectance spectrum of the muscular background obtained in this research was fitted as a base line for the reflectance spectrometry.