ANTIOXIDANT POTENTIAL OF POMEGRANATE JUICE IN COOKED CHICKEN PATTIES

ABSTRACT

This study was carried out to evaluate the antioxidant potential of pomegranate juice (PJ) and vitamin C (VC) in cooked chicken patties during storage at 4C. Freshly minced chicken meat were assigned to one of the following six treatments: control (meat without any antioxidant); PJ 5 (5 mg eq PJ phenolics per 100 g meat); PJ 10 (10 mg eq PJ phenolics per 100 g meat); PJ 15 (15 mg eq PJ phenolics per 100 g meat); PJ 20 (20 mg eq PJ phenolics per 100 g meat); VC 50 (50 mg VC per 100 g meat). The PJ exhibited significantly (P < 0.05) higher reducing power compared with VC. Total phenolic content (as tannic acid equivalent) significantly (P < 0.05) increased from 226 in control to 432 ug/g in PJ 20 patties. Incorporation of 15 mg eq PJ phenolics per 100 g patties was sensorily acceptable. The thiobarbituric acid values were significantly (P < 0.05) reduced from 1.358 in control patties to 0.341 mg malonaldehyde per gram samples in PJ 15 and PJ 20 patties. PJ treatment (PJ 10, PJ 15 and PJ 20) inhibited (P < 0.05) lipid oxidation in cooked chicken patties to a greater extent than VC treatment. Hence, naturally available PJ can be utilized as an alternative to synthetic antioxidants in chicken meat patties with added health benefits.

PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS

Since many of the synthetic antioxidants are associated with potential health risks, the meat industry is looking for natural ingredients to prevent lipid oxidation. Pomegranate juice (PJ) has been demonstrated to be high in antioxidant activity and could be used as a natural source of polyphenols in poultry meat products. The PJ was also reported to be effective in the prevention of atherosclerosis, low-density lipoprotein oxidation, prostate cancer, platelet aggregation and various cardiovascular diseases. Hence, the meat industry should take notice of the use of these fruits as a potential source of phenolics which have immense nutraceutical value or can be utilized to produce functional meat products of great commercial interest.