Comparison of Antioxidant Activity of Protein Isolates Derived from Selected Dry-Cured Meat Products

Abstract

The aim of this study was to evaluate the antioxidant activity of proteins isolates from selected pork dry-cured meat products (i.e., loin, ham and neck). It has been shown that the sarcoplasmic proteins constitute relevant substrates for enzyme-linked proteolysis after 8 months of aging, they accounted the vast majority of peptides (P < 0.05). Nevertheless, comparing antioxidant properties, the myofibrillar proteins have better properties than sarcoplasmic proteins and are deemed to be the most important in inhibiting oxidative changes in the product. Loin showed the best properties of inhibiting oxidative processes in fat, which also confirmed the study of the oxidation-reduction potential (ORP), peroxide value (POV) and thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) value. A correlation between antioxidant activity of peptides and oxidative stability of selected dry-cured meat products was presented. Practical Applications Lipid-protein oxidation is a major quality deteriorative process in meat, resulting in a variety of breakdown products. These studies showed that protein isolates have natural antioxidant properties and may reduce oxidative processes. In the consequence, this improved durability and quality of the meat product. The results suggest that natural antioxidants present in the meat may restrict the use of synthetic antioxidants. It could be a useful for the food industry for maintaining the overall quality of meat products, furthermore may afford meat processors the opportunity to develop novel meat products with improved shelf-life and safety.