Effects of guar gum as a fat substitute in low fat meat emulsions.

The physicochemical, oxidative, and sensory properties were determined for low fat meat emulsions containing varying levels of guar gum (0.5, 1.0, and 1.5%) as a fat substitute. Reduction of fat and incorporation of guar gum resulted in higher emulsion stability and cooking yield but lower penetration force. Color evaluation revealed that low fat formulations had significantly lower lightness and higher redness values than high fat control formulation ( p < .05). However nonsignificant difference was observed in yellowness values ( p > .05). pH value was higher in low-fat formulation containing 1.5% guar gum ( p < .05) however, non-significant difference was observed in other formulations ( p > .05). The MetMb % of the high fat emulsion formulation was higher than low fat formulations ( p < .05). The significant increase of TBARS value, protein carbonyl groups and loss of protein sulfhydryl groups in high fat formulation reflect the more oxidative degradation of the lipids and muscle proteins during the preparation of meat emulsion than low fat formulations ( p < .05). Microstructure observations using SEM shows that increase in guar gum levels lead to formation of gel network, which holds more water. Sensory evaluation indicates that low fat formulation supplemented with 0.5% gum had quality characteristics that were similar to those of the high fat control. Practical applications Nowadays consumers demand healthier meat products that are low in salt, fat, cholesterol, and calories and contain in addition health-promoting bioactive components such as fibers and natural antioxidants. Thus, use of fat replacers with health promoting properties needs research studies. The study of emulsions with added fat replacers is important because the parameters studied in this work facilitate prediction of changes in the final product. Furthermore, the fat replacer guar gum used in this study is a source of soluble dietary fiber in food products and a number of clinical studies have shown a reduction in postprandial glycemia and insulinemia on consumption of it. Since traditional meat products of India especially in the state of Jammu and Kashmir, contain higher amounts of animal fat and no work has done on such products to reduce fat content with alternate ingredients having health benefits with minimal effects on the product quality. Thus, this research work was conducted to study the properties of low fat meat emulsions, because quality of the final product depends on emulsion characteristics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]