According to research published
in the Journal of Food Science, adding 0.1% of the extract to ground chicken
meat reduced the lipid oxidation in processed meat that can lead to the
formation of off-odours.
"This study shows that GSE is an
effective antioxidant in ground chicken thigh meat that does not affect moisture
content or pH during storage, inhibits TBARS formation, helps to mitigate the
pro-oxidative effects of NaCl, and may alter the effect of NaCl on protein
solubility in salted chicken patties," says Robert Brannan from the School of
Human and Consumer Sciences at Ohio University.
The grape
seed extract could be a natural alternative to artificial additives, such as
like butylhydroxyanisole (BHA) and butylhydroxytoluene (BHT).
Brennan prepared the ground meat
with 0.1% grape seed extract (Gravinol-S) and in the presence or absence of salt
(1% NaCl), and subsequently refrigerated at 59, 76, 88, and 99 relative humidity
for as long as 12 days.
At the end of this, the level of
lipid oxidation - measured using the thiobarbituric acid reactive substances
(TBARS) assay - was affected by the degree of humidity across all the groups, as
well as salt content.
"Ground chicken thigh patties
treated with 0.1% GSE with or without NaCl (0.54 and 0.72 micromol/kg,
respectively) exhibited significantly lower TBARS values than the control (1.35
micromol/kg) while patties treated with NaCl alone (1.90 micromol/kg) exhibited
significantly increased TBARS values compared to the untreated control," stated
Brennan.
"As promising as these results
are, additional research will be required to determine how the physicochemical
interactions of GSE reported in this study and previous studies affect important
cooked meat quality attributes (colour, texture, flavour) and nutritional
quality, especially in regard to the level, form, and health-promoting
functionality of residual GSE in the meat after processing," concluded
Brannan.
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