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A fundamental regulatory framework to elucidate the role of electrical stimulation (ES) in reducing long production cycles, enhancing protein utilization, and boosting product quality of dry-cured ham is essential. However, how mitochondria and enzymes in meat fibers are altered by ES during post-processing, curing, and fermentation procedures remains elusive. This study sought to explore the impact of ES on the regulation of heat shock proteins (HSP27, HSP70), apoptotic pathways, and subsequent influences on dry-cured pork loin quality. The gathered data validated the hypothesis that ES notably escalates mitochondrial oxidative stress and accelerates mitochondrial degradation along the ripening process. The proapoptotic response in ES-treated samples was increased by 120.7%, with a cellular apoptosis rate 5-fold higher than that in control samples. This mitochondrial degradation is marked by increased ratios of Bax/Bcl-2 protein along the time course, indicating that apoptosis could contribute to the dry-cured ham processing. ES was shown to further down-regulate HSP27 and HSP70, establishing a direct correlation with the activation of mitochondrial apoptosis pathways, accompanied by dry-cured ham quality improvements. The findings show that ES plays a crucial role in facilitating the ripening of dry-cured ham by inducing mitochondrial apoptosis to reduce HSP expression. This knowledge not only explains the fundamental mechanisms behind myofibril degradation in dry-cured ham production but also offers a promising approach to enhance quality and consistency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traditional dry-cured hams are easily contaminated by toxigenic fungi during the fermentation and ripening stages. The detection and positive rates of ochratoxin A (OTA) are the highest among mycotoxins detected in traditional dry-cured hams, indicating that OTA in hams is a potential safety hazard to human health. This review addresses the mycotoxin-producing fungal species, the toxigenic conditions causing OTA contamination worldwide, the prevalence of OTA contamination in dry-cured hams, and the detection methods applied in OTA analysis. Additionally, this study introduces methods to prevent and control OTA in traditional dry-cured hams. The growth of common mycotoxin-producing fungi and the accumulation of mycotoxins in dry-cured ham can be controlled by a microbial starter. This review provides an important theoretical foundation for the research and control of OTA in traditional dry-cured hams. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Staphylococcus simulans and Lactobacillus plantarum screened from Guizhou specialty food were used to prepare fermented pork loin ham. The sensory qualities and flavor profiles of fermented pork loin hams from 0 to 42 days were investigated in order to reveal the dynamics of fermented pork loin ham. The results show that total free amino acids (TFAA) content reached the highest value on the 35th day, and the umami amino acids, including aspartic acid (ASP), glutamic acid (GLU), glycine (GLY), and alanine (ALA), were the main amino acids in all periods. Notably, the RV coefficient (0.875) indicates that free amino acids (FAA) are highly correlated with the sensory score of the E-tongue. In terms of the volatile compounds identified, the esters content gradually increased between 7 and 42 days, and ethyl octanoate was the most abundant compound during all periods. These esters imparted a characteristic aroma component to the fermented pork loin ham. The most important finding was that the increase in the content of esters represented by octanoic acid-ethyl ester might be related to the increase in the content of FAA with the increase in fermentation time. Both the E-nose and E-tongue showed good discrimination ability for fermented tenderloin ham with different fermentation times, which was crucial in cases with large clusters. In addition, the multiple factor analysis (MFA) indicated that the E-nose aroma value might be the key factor in distinguishing fermented pork loin ham with different fermentation times. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Panxian dry-cured ham, a typical representative of traditional Chinese dry-cured ham, has a minimum time of ripening of 12 months, which results in intense proteolysis and the generation of numerous peptides. The purpose of this study was to measure the peptides with the activities of antioxidant, angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE), and platelet-activating factor-acetulhydrolase (PAF-AH) inhibitory, from the Panxian dry-cured ham. The results showed that Panxian dry-cured ham extracts had antioxidant, ACE, and PAF-AH inhibitory activities, and these activities increased significantly with increasing concentrations of extracts (P < 0.05). The <3 kDa peptide fraction prepared by 3 kDa cutoff membrane had significantly stronger inhibitory activity, compared with 3–10 kDa and >10 kDa fractions (P < 0.05). It was identified for the peptide fractions of below 3 kDa to use Nano-LC-ESI-MS/MS. Totally, 66 peptides were identified containing 2–16 amino acid residues. Among these peptides, 22.7%, 15.2%, and 9.09% were derived from myosin, beta-enolase, and actin, respectively. The bioactive peptides of Panxian dry-cured ham, generated during long ripening processing, are positively contributing to human health. • The antioxidant, ACE and PAF-AH inhibitory activities of Panxian ham were assayed. • Low MW peptides (<3 kDa) had better antioxidant, ACE and PAF-AH inhibitory activities. • Identified peptides were mainly derived from myosin, beta-enolase, and actin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]