Effective inhibition and simplified detection of lipid oxidation in tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) fillets during ice storage

Tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) fillets were treated by soaking in 2% sodium pyrophosphate (SPP), sodium tripolyphosphate (STP) and a mixture (SPP + STP, 1:1) solutions before ice storage. Compared with control (without pyrophosphate), pyrophosphates especially SPP treatment effectively inhibited the lipid oxidation as evidenced by lower peroxide values (PV) and thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBRAS). The pyrophosphate treated samples also had higher water holding capacity and bright red color, with less off-flavor. In addition, the electronic-nose (e-nose) measured offer-flavor demonstrated a good correlation with PV and TBRAS, suggesting that e-nose assay might be an alternative method to detect lipid oxidation. The verification results showed that lipid oxidation could be well predicted by using e-nose assay combined with linear discriminant analysis. This study proposed an effective method for inhibition of lipid oxidation and a simplified method for its measurement in tilapia fillets during ice storage.