4.6. Biochemical tissue analysis

Hand-reared and wild capercaillies differed from each other in liver composition. The difference was significant, showing higher water content and lower fat, protein and ash content in wild birds compared with hand-reared birds (I, Table 5). No difference was found in the chemical composition of pectoral, leg and heart muscle between wild and hand-reared birds (I, Table 5).

Cytochrome-c oxidase activities of the homogenate and mitochondrial fraction of pectoral muscle and heart were lower in hand-reared birds compared with wild birds. In hand-reared birds the mitochondrial fraction of pectoral muscle showed a lower oxidative enzyme activity than in wild birds but in heart the difference was not significant (I, Figs. 1a, 1b). The protein content of the mitochondrial fraction of pectoral muscle and heart was higher in wild capercaillie compared with the hand-reared birds. Glycogen content was not different between wild and hand-reared birds (I, Table 4).