Search

The aim of the study is to compare the effects of Salvia hispanica (Chia) seed and Nigella sativa (Black Cumin) seed in traditionally produced dry fermented sausages with reduced nitrites on the changes in physicochemical parameters (water content, pH, and water activity), thioarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), color parameters, the content of nitrosopigments, and microbial counts throughout the production process. At the end of the processing, the content of biogenic amines was also determined. Five samples were analyzed during the 30-day production process: the control sample, samples with 1% and 2% additions of chia seed, and samples with 1% and 2% additions of black cumin seed. It was indicated that the addition of chia or black cumin did not exert any effect on water content or water activity changes in fermented sausages. At the end of production, the samples were characterized by low water activity, in the range of 0.798–0.813. The sausages with chia seeds were characterized by the lowest pH due to the highest proliferation of lactic acid bacteria. TBARS values did not alter in both control and black cumin sausages throughout the experiment. Microbiological analysis showed that the addition of chia or black cumin seed enhances the proliferation of the lactic acid bacteria and caused a reduction in the number of Enterobacteriaceae in comparison to the control.

This study aims to improve knowledge on fermented beef and fallow deer sausages and the effect of nitrite elimination and the addition of freeze dried acid whey on the fatty acid profile and volatile compounds. Three different formulations within each of the two product groups, made of beef and fallow deer meat, respectively, were prepared: control sample with sodium nitrite, sample without nitrite, and sample without nitrite and with the addition of freeze-dried acid whey powder (0.7%). After production, the sausages were subjected to analysis including proximate chemical composition, pH and water activity, Thiobarbituric Acid Reactive Substance (TBARS), fatty acid profile, and volatile compound determination. The fermented sausages were characterized by an average pH and water activity in the range of 5.23–5.79 and 0.910–0.918, respectively. Fallow deer sausages were characterized by a higher content of saturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids in comparison to beef sausages. The elimination of nitrite did not significantly affect the amount of volatile compounds in fermented sausages. However, the effect of the freeze-dried acid whey powder addition on the amount of some volatile compounds in uncured sausages was observed, in particular, that derived from bacterial metabolism.

Oxidative stress is implicated in human diseases including cancer or neurodegenerative diseases. On the other hand, lipid and microbial spoilage are the main issues of food degradation. Bioactive peptides with antioxidant and antimicrobial activity could solve both problems and create an opportunity to improve the sustainability of the meat industry. Recently, meat by-products are subject of numerous studies to produce antioxidant peptides, highlighting pork liver as a potential source of hydrolysates. To achieve this purpose, pork liver was digested with Flavourzyme at four reaction times (4, 6, 8, and 10 h) and filtered with cut-offs of 5, 10, and 30-kDa molecular weight. Monitoring hydrolysis with SDS-PAGE showed that the reaction was almost complete. Free amino acid profile exhibited that aliphatic and aromatic amino acids were released in a higher amount at longer reaction times. Heat map analysis demonstrated that a hydrolysis time beyond 6 h, displayed a differential amino acid pattern enabling us to optimize the enzymatic reaction. Antioxidant activity was assessed using ABTS, DPPH, FRAP, and ORAC tests, while antimicrobial assay was carried out against Gram-positive and Gram-negative. ABTS and DPPH values revealed that hydrolysates showed a high antioxidant capacity, as well as an inhibition of growth of Brochothrix thermosphata particularly 30 kDa hydrolysates.

In order to make the by-products generated from the porcine industry more valuable, pig livers were used in this trial to obtain protein hydrolysates. Three proteases (alcalase, bromelain, and papain) were utilized for enzymatic hydrolysis with two different durations, 4 and 8 hours. Ultrafiltration process was used for the recovery of the extracts, employing three different membrane pore sizes (30, 10, and 5 kDa). The porcine livers contained considerable amounts of protein (19.0%), considering they are almost composed of water (74.1%). The antioxidant activity of the obtained hydrolysates was investigated using four antioxidant methods (2,2-Diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging activity, 2-2′-Azino-di-[3-ethylbenzthiazoline sulfonate] (ABTS) radical scavenging activity, ferric reducing antioxidant power assay (FRAP), and oxygen radical absorbance capacity assay (ORAC)). Antibacterial properties were also measured against Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria. Results indicated that the three studied factors (type of enzyme, membrane pore size, and time) significantly affected the parameters evaluated. Hydrolysates obtained at 8 hours with alcalase had the best antioxidant properties. The 30 kDa alcalase extracts exhibited the highest DPPH (562 µg Trolox/g), FRAP (82.9 µmol Fe2+/100 g), and ORAC (53.2 mg Trolox/g) activities, while for ABTS the 10 kDa alcalase showed the higher values (1068 mg ascorbic acid/100 g). Concerning the antibacterial activity, 30 kDa hydrolysates obtained with bromelain for 4 hours exhibited the highest antimicrobial capacity, providing an inhibition of 91.7%.