Effect of Some Natural and Synthetic Antioxidants on Ground Beef Meat During Cold Storage

Antioxidant efficiency of recommended optimum levels of rosemary (R) (0.10%), sage (S) (0.05%), mustard (M) (0.10%), clove (CL) (0.10%), fenugreek (FGK) (0.10%) and majorana hortansia (MH) (0.01%), were evaluated against mixed (1:1)butylated hydroxyanisole / butylated hydroxytoluene (BHA/BHT) (0.01%) and also were evaluated against a control (C) without antioxidant. Ground beef samples were treated then stored at 4C° for 0, 3, 6 and 9 days. Ground beef meat samples were anaylsed for lipid oxidation (peroxide value (PV),thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) and free fatty acid (FFA), meat quality, pH, water holding capacity (WHC), drip loss, cooking loss, total volatile nitrogen (TVN), protein solubility, cholesterol content, myoglobin concentration and sensory attributes (flavour, juiciness, tenderness and overall palatability). Microbiological analysis (total plate count TPC and psychrophilic total count PTC) was also determined.
Addition of antioxidants decreased drip loss, cooking loss, TBARS, PV, FFA, cholesterol content, TVN, and reduced the rate of oxidation of myoglobin to metmyoglobin. On the other hand, WHC, protein solubility and the organoleptic characteristics were enhanced . Inhibition of microbial growth (TPC and PTC) were detected. Results showed that the addition of rosemary (R) significantly decreased the lipid oxidation of the ground beef during storage up to 9 days. It was found that (R) was more effective than BHA/BHT in preventing the increase of TBARS, PV, FFA values and significantly protected myoglobin from oxidation to metmyoglobin. Added R also markedly decreased the drip loss, cooking loss, TVN and cholesterol content. The WHC, protein solubility, sensory properties and activity against TPC and PTC bacteria were significantly higher with addition of R. This study pointed out natural antioxidants especially, rosemary were more effective than synthetic antioxidants when used to enhance quality and shelf life of ground beef.