Mechanisms of Oxidative Processes in Meat and Toxicity Induced by Postprandial Degradation Products: A Review

Abstract

Antioxidant system loss after slaughtering, reactive species production, cell disruption, contact with oxygen and light, heme and nonheme iron, and irradiation starts up mainly by 2 related oxidative processes: lipid peroxidation and protein oxidation. Products generated in these processes are responsible for meat quality loss, and some of them are suspected to be toxic to humans. This review article is focused on reactive species implicated in oxidative processes in meat, on lipid peroxidation mechanisms, heme protein, and nonheme protein oxidation, and on some toxic oxidation and digestion products. Nonenzymatic fatty acid peroxidation is exemplified by an arachidonic acyl group, and the initiation of chain reaction can be described by 3 pathways: singlet oxygen, hydroxyl radical from the Fenton reaction, and perferrylmyoglobin. Enzymatic oxidation of fatty acids is exemplified using linoleic acid, and the main characteristics of lipoxygenase are also presented. Heme protein oxidation is described in an interrelation with lipid peroxidation and the significance for food quality is shown. For protein oxidation, 3 different mechanism types are described: oxidation of amino acid residues, oxidation of protein backbone, and reactions of proteins with carbonyl compounds from lipid peroxidation. The effects of oxidative damage on protein properties and bioavailability are also shown. At the end of each oxidative process, the postprandial toxicity induced by oxidation products and the dietary degradation products are presented. Also discussed are reports by some researchers who suggest that dietary lipid and protein oxidation products and heme iron from red meat are in part cytotoxic and/or genotoxic.

Influence of Water Addition on Lipid Oxidation in Protein Oleogels

“…Waxes and polymers are used as gelling and structuring agents . The two main objectives of oil gelling are: Substitution of saturated lipids by unsaturated lipids and the avoidance of trans fatty acids, which are also known as unhealthy lipid compounds and mainly introduced by conventionally partially hydrogenated fats …”

“…Unsaturated fatty acids, however, are prone to lipid oxidation, which is well known as one of the main causes of deterioration and quality loss in food . But only a few papers have been published on lipid oxidation of oleogels, yet.…”

“…Also the protein backbone can be attacked by reactive species. Therefore, protein oxidation causes a lower nutritional value and a reduced digestibility, but also toxic products may be formed, which exhibited, in addition to several lipid oxidation products, carcinogenic potential …”

Microbiological and physicochemical parameters for predicting quality of fat and low‐fat raw ground beef during refrigerated aerobic storage

“…Raw meat spoilage is responsible for large economic losses (FAO, ). Lipid and protein oxidation and microbial growth are the main causes of meat spoilage (Doulgeraki, Ercolini, Villani, & Nychas, ; Papuc, Goran, Predescu, & Nicorescu, ). The physicochemical and biochemical characteristics of meat are highly linked to its quality and their changes during storage are often assessed through changes in specific indicators such as pH, color, water‐holding capacity (WHC) and formation of aldheydes, ketones, and amines the levels of which, individually or combined, are often correlated with organoleptic rejection.…”

The Effect of Some Polyphenols on Minced Pork during Refrigeration Compared with Ascorbic Acid

“…Lipid peroxidation and myoglobin oxidation lead to changes in meat colour, flavour and appearance of undesirable odour. These negative aspects draw the consumer's refusal to buy the oxidized products (Gahruie et al, 2017;Papuc et al, 2017a).…”