Opuntia ficus-indica extracts as alternatives to the use of synthetic additives in meat products

Author(s)

Leticia Aline Gonçalves

• Document type: Master's Dissertation
• Press: Pirassununga.
• Institution: Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Faculdade de Zootecnica e Engenharia de Alimentos (FZE/BT)
• Defense date: 2023-02-16

Examining board members

Marco Antonio Trindade; Ana Karoline Ferreira Ignácio Câmara; Camila de Souza Paglarini

• Advisor: Marco Antonio Trindade; Jose Manuel Lorenzo Rodriguez

Abstract

There is a demand from both consumers and international health organizations for healthier meat products development, given the great concern that excessive consumption of traditional products contributes to the high intake of saturated and total fat and substances considered harmful to health, such as synthetic additives. In this sense, the development of healthier meat products by replacing saturated fats with unsaturated ones, as well as the use of natural additives to replace synthetic, are promising strategies, leading researchers and food industry to seek healthier alternatives to meet market demand and comply with health recommendations. The objective of the first two chapters of this study was to obtain natural extracts of prickly pear through solid-liquid extraction with organic solvents, such as the ethanol:water mixture, and apply them to chicken (Pectoralis major) patties and fresh sausages, replacing the synthetic antioxidant sodium erythorbate, and the patties were also produced with the addition of a structured emulsion of sesame oil, rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids, to completely replace animal fat. In the third chapter, a bibliographic review was carried out to emphasize the possibility of replacing synthetic antimicrobials with fruit extracts and agro-industrial residues for the development of clean label meat products. The effect of prickly pear extracts (PPE) on chicken products was evaluated during processing and refrigerated storage for oxidative stability, physicochemical properties, sensory acceptance and microbiological stability. The incorporation of 1.88 and 3.75% of PPE in chicken fresh sausages did not change the pH, proximate composition and cooking losses, but caused an increase in hardness, a reduction in luminosity (L*) and an increase in the index of yellow (b*). All treatments were well accepted sensorially (close to or greater than 7 on the 9-point hedonic scale). The samples with PPE had TBARs values higher than the other treatments, probably caused by factors that lead to the overestimation of TBA-reactive substances and/or pro-oxidant activity. The extract showed an advantage in reducing the count of aerobic psychrotrophic microorganisms. For chicken patties, the use of 500 and 750 ppm of PPE caused a reduction in lipid oxidation rates compared to the control treatment (without antioxidants) and treatment with 500 ppm of sodium erythorbate, as well as better oxidative stability of the pigments. No significant differences were observed in proximate composition, pH, fatty acid profile and sensory acceptance. The reformulated patties had 33.7% of polyunsaturated, 42.5% of monounsaturated and 23.8% of saturated fatty acids. The Review study of Chapter 3, as well as the results found in Chapter 1 of this work, point to a good antimicrobial capacity of OpuntiaI species. Therefore, the use of natural prickly pear extract to replace synthetic additives can be considered a good strategy for the development of clean label meat products. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 20/04544-9 - Evaluation of antioxidant and antimicrobial capacity of prickly pear extract (Opuntia ficus-indica) applied to chicken sausages
• Grantee: Leticia Aline Gonçalves
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Master