Ferrihemochrome-forming nitrogenous bases as possible substitutes for nitrite in cured products.

Abstract

To dete, research on possible substitutes for nitrite in cured products has focused on ferrohemochrome-forming ligands. Since such a restriction, however was not deemed necessary, color development through ferrihemochrome formation was examined.Twenty-one nitrogenous bases were tested for their ability to form ferrihemochromes with hematin, metMb, and urea-denatured Mb, in model systems at pH 6.0, 6.5, 7.0, and 8.0. Imidazole, histidylhistidne, carnosine, phenylalanine ethyl ester, tyrosine ethyl ester, and histidine methyl ester were found to be highly reactive to both hematin and denatured Mb, with imidazole the most reactive of all. The two histidyl peptides showed greater reactivates than histidine. In general, nitrogenous bases with a high degree of affinity for hematin also reacted well with denatured Mb. Based on these results, the possibility of using ferrihemochrome-forming nitrogenous bases as nitrite substitutes in cured meat was discussed.