Co-Authors:
Granit, R., Department of Food Science, Institute for Technology and Storage of Agricultural Products, Volcani Center, P.O. Box 6, Bet Dagan 50250, Israel
Angel, S., Department of Food Science, Institute for Technology and Storage of Agricultural Products, Volcani Center, P.O. Box 6, Bet Dagan 50250, Israel
Akiri, B., Department of Food Science, Institute for Technology and Storage of Agricultural Products, Volcani Center, P.O. Box 6, Bet Dagan 50250, Israel
Holzer, Z., Department of Beef Cattle, Agricultural Research Organization, Newe-Yaar Research Center, P.O. Box 1021, Ramat-Yishay 30095, Israel
Aharoni, Y., Department of Beef Cattle, Agricultural Research Organization, Newe-Yaar Research Center, P.O. Box 1021, Ramat-Yishay 30095, Israel
Orlov, A., Department of Beef Cattle, Agricultural Research Organization, Newe-Yaar Research Center, P.O. Box 1021, Ramat-Yishay 30095, Israel
Kanner, J., Department of Food Science, Institute for Technology and Storage of Agricultural Products, Volcani Center, P.O. Box 6, Bet Dagan 50250, Israel
Abstract:
The color of fresh meat is one of the most important quality criteria of raw muscle foods. This red color is principally due to the presence of oxymyoglobin. The present study was undertaken to examine the effect of a diet rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), the addition of NaCl, and the influence of dietary supplementation with vitamin E on calf muscle oxymyoglobin oxidation (color) and lipid peroxidation. Vitamin E was added to the feed at a concentration of 4000 mg/day for 90 days before slaughter. This diet increased the α-tocopherol concentration in muscle membrane from 2.6-2.8 to 6.5-7.0 μg/g of fresh weight. It was found that the diet rich in PUFA and, especially, the addition of NaCl increased muscle lipid peroxidation and oxymyoglobin oxidation as indicated by the contents of thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances and substances that impaired color value readings during storage at 4°C. Both undesirable reactions during storage were controlled very efficiently by the presence of a critically high concentration of α-tocopherol in the muscle tissues. The findings concerning the antioxidant activity of α-tocopherol in this study form additional evidence of its efficient protection against oxidative reactions during storage of muscle tissues and its potential to maintain a high nutritional value in them.