Abstract
Synthetic antioxidant food additives, such as BHA, BHT and TBHQ, are going through a difficult time, since these products generate a negative perception in consumers. This has generated an increased pressure on food manufacturers to search for safer natural alternatives like phytochemicals (such as polyphenols, including flavonoids, and essential oils rich in terpenoids, including carotenoids). These plant bioactive compounds have antioxidant activities widely proven in in vitro tests and in diverse food matrices (meat, fish, oil and vegetables). As tons of food are wasted every year due to aesthetic reasons (lipid oxidation) and premature damage caused by inappropriate packaging, there is an urgent need for natural antioxidants capable of replacing the synthetic ones to meet consumer demands. This review summarizes industrially interesting antioxidant bioactivities associated with terpenoids and polyphenols with respect to the prevention of lipid oxidation in high fat containing foods, such as meat (rich in saturated fat), fish (rich in polyunsaturated fat), oil and vegetable products, while avoiding the generation of rancid flavors and negative visual deterioration (such as color changes due to oxidized lipids). Terpenoids (like monoterpenes and carotenoids) and polyphenols (like quercetin and other flavonoids) are important phytochemicals with a broad range of antioxidant effects. These phytochemicals are widely distributed in fruits and vegetables, including agricultural waste, and are remarkably useful in food preservation, as they show bioactivity as plant antioxidants, able to scavenge reactive oxygen and nitrogen species, such as superoxide, hydroxyl or peroxyl radicals in meat and other products, contributing to the prevention of lipid oxidation processes in food matrices.
Highlights
The various food types present in the human diet primarily include meat, fish, fruits and vegetables and plant oils used for cooking
Of the U.S Code of Federal Regulations (21 CFR 182; 21 CFR 172) and as in the case of European regulations, there is no specific category for natural antioxidants [16,17]. Antioxidants approved for their use in food are clearly specified for such use and include natural antioxidants such as ascorbic acid or tocopherols, the US regulation is much broader than the European one and presents other ingredients that fall into other categories under a different technical effect, but which are known to possess proven antioxidant activity [18]
This gives an idea of its antioxidant activity, which was contrasted after being added to chicken sausage refrigerated for up to 42 days, producing a reduction in lipid oxidation with respect to the control treated with the synthetic antioxidant sodium erythorbate [75]
Summary
The various food types present in the human diet primarily include meat, fish, fruits and vegetables and plant oils used for cooking All of these provide essential nutrients due to their high amounts of polyunsaturated lipids, valuable proteins, essential amino acids, B-group vitamins and minerals, among others [1,2]. Food oxidation derived from altered lipids and proteins causes off-odors and off-flavors and color and textural changes, which decrease the sensory and nutritional quality of food products, and their safety for the consumer due to the production of potentially toxic chemical compounds, such as polyoxygenated compounds derived from cholesterol in animal food matrices [8,9]. The different processes associated with oxidation in food matrices are reviewed and plant alternatives (flavonoids and terpenoids) to current synthetic antioxidant use as food additives are described for diverse food sectors
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