67C-4


Effect of electron beam irradiation and storage at 5oC on thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) and carbonyl contents in chicken breast meat infused with antioxidants and selected plant extracts

T. M. RABABAH1, N. S. Hettiarachchy1, R. Horax1, D. Zhu1, M. G. Johnson1, J. Dickson2, and S. Niebuhr2. (1) Dept. of Food Science, Univ. of Arkansas, 2650 N. Young Ave., Fayetteville, AR 72701, (2) Department of Microbiology, Iowa State University, 2293 Kildee Hall, Ames, IA IA 50011

Food irradiation is a potent technique to reduce/ eliminate food-borne pathogens. However, irradiation causes changes of food quality such as color change, and lipid oxidation resulting in off-flavor and makes the product undesirable for consumption. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of synthetic and natural antioxidants; green tea (GT), commercial grape seed (GS) extracts and TBHQ, with varying concentrations on lipid oxidation of non-irradiated and irradiated chicken breast meats (CBM) stored at 5 oC for 12 days. Fresh boneless and skinless CBM were vacuum infused with varying concentrations of antioxidants: GT, GS extracts alone/ in combination and TBHQ. The irradiation dosage was 3.0 kGy. Carbonyl values of raw, and TBARS values of raw and cooked CMB were determined for 0-12 days at 5 oC storage. TBARS values for 0 – 12 days of storage at 5 oC ranged from 1.21 – 7.3 and 1.22 – 8.51 mg malondialdehyde / 100 g chicken for non-irradiated and irradiated raw chicken, respectively. TBARS values of cooked chicken ranged from 2.19 – 35.83 and 2.45 – 45.72 mg malondialdehyde / 100 g chicken for non-irradiated and irradiated chicken, respectively. The carbonyl content in meat lipid ranged from 1.7 – 2.9 and 1.7– 4.41 mmole acetophenone/10 g of non-irradiated and irradiated CBM, respectively. The findings demonstrated that irradiation increased lipid oxidation. Infusing TBHQ/ GS/ GT extracts into CBM minimized lipid oxidation in irradiated and non-irradiated, raw and cooked chicken. TBHQ was the most effective antioxidant in retarding lipid oxidation of CBM. GS and GT extracts at higher level (6000 ppm- based on 2.5% lipid content) were more effective than at a lower level (3000 ppm) in minimizing oxidation. Infusion of CBM with antioxidants and selected plant extracts is an effective method to minimize lipid oxidation caused by irradiation.

Session 67C, Food Chemistry: Food analysis, irradiation and toxicology
2:00 PM - 5:30 PM, Wednesday PM Room Hall N-1

2004 IFT Annual Meeting, July 12-16 - Las Vegas, NV