Natural Antioxidants Show Promise For Preserving Meat and Meat Products

19 Oct 2015 --- Antioxidants are often added to fresh and processed meat and meat products to prevent lipid oxidation (decomposition), stop the development of off-flavors, and improve color stability.

Synthetic antioxidants have been shown to be toxic and have carcinogenic properties, so recently food manufacturers have moved towards using natural antioxidants such as plant extracts, herbs, spices and essential oils, instead of synthetic ones in order to meet consumer demand for more natural products. In a new review article in Comprehensive Reviews in Food Science and Food Safety, published by the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT), authors from authors from Punjab Agricultural University in India looked at numerous studies to identify 27 natural ingredients that can be used as antioxidants in meat and meat products.

Following is a chart that shows 10 of the more well-known natural ingredients and the type of meat they can be used to preserve.

Natural Ingredient: Meat/Meat Products
Mustard Leaf Kimchi Extract: Refrigerated Raw Ground Pork Meat
Oregano Essential Oils: Raw and Cooked Cow Meat
Sage Essential Oils: Raw and Cooked Cow Meat
Curry: Raw and Cooked Cow Meat
Carrot Juice: Irradiated Beef Sausage
Pomegranate Juice Extract: Cooked Chicken Patties
Kimichi Extracts: Cooked Ground Pork
Grape Antioxidant Fiber: Raw and Cooked Chicken Burger
Green Tea Extract: Dry Spicy Sausage
Oregano Extract: Irradiated Beef Burgers

Much interest has been developed during the last few years for naturally occurring antioxidants because of the adverse attention received by synthetic antioxidants, and also because of the worldwide trend to avoid or minimize the use of artificial food additives. The research for natural antioxidants has also increased in recent years; these antioxidants may be found in any plant part, such as grains, fruits, nuts, seeds, leaves, roots, arils, and barks. The majority of natural antioxidants are phenolic compounds, and the most important are the tocopherols, flavonoids, and phenolic acids. All are generally common to all plant sources. They are added to an extensive variety of foods, in order to prevent or delay lipid oxidation.

The major antioxidative phenolics are: phenolic acids, phenolic diterpenes, flavonoids, and volatile oils. Some phenolics prevent the formation of free radicals and reactive oxygen species (ROS), whereas other scavenge free radicals. Phenolic acids trap free radicals; flavonoids scavenge free radicals and chelate metals as well. The antioxidant potential of these natural compounds depends on their structure and pattern of functional groups. Presence of multiple –OH groups and other structures enhance the antioxidant potential of plant-based phenolics and the more –OH groups, the greater the antioxidant potential, whereas reduction of –OH groups usually decreases antioxidant effectiveness.

Plant-derived pigments (anthocyanins and anthocyanindins) also contain –OH groups, which can thus possess antioxidant properties. Some phenolics also contain vicinal, which prevent oxidation via more than one method. This type of natural antioxidants (for example, carnosic acid) has several times the antioxidant activity as BHA and BHT because the latter do not have–OH groups.

Although the concept of using natural antioxidants in meat and meat products is promising, safe, efficient, and economical procedures for extraction of these compounds from plant materials must be developed, in order to establish commercial sustainability. Researchers have employed a variety of extraction procedures which range from very fast extraction to far slower but that in general use traditional methods such as liquid-liquid extraction. These methods have been linked to degradation of the final product, so methods such as subcritical extraction have been identified for the efficient extraction of antioxidative compounds.