Antimutagenic effect of an Asclepias subulata extract against heterocyclic aromatic amines commonly found in cooked meat and its heat stability.

The antimutagenicity of an extract from the medicinal plant Asclepias subulata (ASE) against heterocyclic aromatic amines (HAAs) commonly found in cooked meat, as well as its stability to heat treatment (HT), was evaluated. HT (180 °C/3 min) had no effect on the content in ASE of the bioactive compound corotoxigenin-3-O-glucopyranoside; conversely, calotropin significantly decreased by 72%. ASE exerted antimutagenicity against PhIP, MelQ, and MelQx in TA98 and TA100 Salmonella strains, and this activity was not affected by heat, with the exception of MelQ (p < 0.05). Since HAAs can induce colorectal cancer, the thermal stability of ASE's antiproliferative effect against colorectal cancer cells was also evaluated. HT decreased (p < 0.05) the antiproliferative activity of ASE; however, the remaining activity was still strong with an IC50 of 16.8 ± 2.03 µg/mL. Therefore, ASE can be used as a food ingredient to reduce the carcinogenic potential of thermally induced HAAs.

Effect of Grapefruit Seed Extract on Thermal Inactivation of Listeria monocytogenes during Sous-Vide Processing of Two Marinated Mexican Meat Entrées.

D- and z-values for Listeria monocytogenes were obtained for two Mexican meat entrées: pork meat marinated in tomatillo (green tomato) sauce (PTS) and beef marinated in a red chili sauce (BRCS), with addition of 0, 200, and 800 ppm of grapefruit seed extract (GSE). Meat samples inoculated with L. monocytogenes were packaged in sterile bags, immersed in a water bath, and held at 55, 57.5, 60, and 62.5°C for different periods of time. Depending upon the temperature, D-values at 0 ppm of GSE ranged from 26.19 to 2.03 min in BRCS and 26.41 to 0.8 min in PTS. Adding 800 ppm of GSE to BRCS thermally treated at 55 and 62.5°C significantly decreased inactivation time by 35%. A reduction in time of 25.9, 10.6, and 40.1% at 55, 57.5, and 60°C, respectively, was observed in PTS with 800 ppm of GSE. The z-values of L. monocytogenes were not significantly affected by GSE addition; average z-values were 7.25 and 5.09°C for BRCS and PTS, respectively. Estimated thermal lethality for a 7-D log reduction of L. monocytogenes under commercial-size sous-vide conditions at a reference temperature of 55°C was reached at 78 and 71 min for BRCS without and with 800 ppm of GSE, respectively. For PTS, 7-D reduction was attained at 69 and 61 min without and with addition of 800 ppm of GSE, respectively. Supplementing both Mexican meat entrées (BRCS and PTS) with 800 ppm of GSE rendered L. monocytogenes cells more sensitive to the lethal effect of heat. The results of this study will assist the retail food industry in designing acceptance limits on critical control points pertaining to cooking regimes to effectively eliminate L. monocytogenes in BRCS and PTS sous-vide processed Mexican meat entrées.

Partial characterization of ultrafiltrated soy protein hydrolysates with antioxidant and free radical scavenging activities.

Soy protein isolate (SPI) was hydrolyzed with Flavourzyme® (SHF) or chymotrypsin (SHC). Hydrolysates were sequencially fractionated by ultrafiltration using different membrane pore sizes (50, 10, and 3 kDa). The antioxidant ability of each hydrolysate protein fraction was tested in a liposome oxidizing system and their free radical scavenging activity (FRSA) was evaluated with the DPPH method (diphenylpicrilhydrazine radical). Molecular weight (MW) distribution, solubility, surface hydrophobicity, and amino acid composition of each SPI hydrolysate fraction were measured and their effect on antioxidant and scavenging activities was established by multivariate correlation. The most active ultrafiltrated peptide fractions (P < 0.05), from SHF and SHC, had of MW of <3 kDa (F3 and C3, respectively). These fractions decreased liposome oxidation by 83.2% and 84.5%, respectively, and also showed the highest FRSA (F3: 21.3% and C3: 24.4%). In addition to molecular size, the antioxidant activity and FRSA of soy protein fractions were related to their amino acid composition, especially to an increased content of Phe and a lowered content of Lys. Also, hydrophobicity of ultrafiltrated peptide fractions was an important characteristic (P < 0.001) associated with their ability to trap free radicals. Ultrafiltered peptide fractions with low MW have a high potential to be used as natural alternatives to prevent lipid oxidation in foods.

Whey and soy protein hydrolysates inhibit lipid oxidation in cooked pork patties.

Pork patties containing 1.5% NaCl and 2% hydrolyzed whey protein isolate (WPI, 1 h with flavourzyme or 6 h with protamex) or soy protein isolate (SPI, 0.5 h with chymotrypsin or flavourzyme) were cooked to 70 °C and subsequently stored at 4 °C up to 7 days. Lipid oxidation in patties during storage was analyzed by measuring the concentration of conjugated dienes (CD) and thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances (TBARS). Intact WPI and SPI, and their hydrolysates, were all inhibitory of oxidation (P <0.05) in cooked patties, with SPI being slightly more effective than WPI. Hydrolysis with protamex augmented the antioxidative activity (CD, TBARS) of WPI. Hydrolysis with either chymotrypsin or flavourzyme improved the ability of SPI to retard CD formation but did not delay the production of TBARS in stored pork patties.