Preparation of a-tocopherol-chitosan nanoparticles/ chitosan/ montmorillonite film and the antioxidant efficiency on sliced dry-cured ham

Authors: YAN, WENJING - Nanjing Agricultural University; CHEN, WENBIN - Nanjing Agricultural University; MUHAMMAD, UMAIR - Nanjing Agricultural University; ZHANG, JIANHAO - Nanjing Agricultural University; Zhuang, Hong; ZHOU, GUANGHONG - Nanjing Agricultural University

Submitted to: Food Control
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 4/25/2019
Publication Date: 4/26/2019
Citation: Yan, W., Chen, W., Muhammad, U., Zhang, J., Zhuang, H., Zhou, G. 2019. Preparation of a-tocopherol-chitosan nanoparticles/ chitosan/ montmorillonite film and the antioxidant efficiency on sliced dry-cured ham. Food Control. 104, 132-138.

Interpretive Summary: Ham is a popular meat product in the world. Lipid peroxidation is a main quality issue during the storage of dry-cured ham. It results in an off-taste of ham. Thus, antioxidants, such as tocopherol, have be used to inhibit lipid oxidation in meat. For ham preservation, the traditional methods are either spraying or coating antioxidants on surface. However, spraying or coating methods use large amount of antioxidants, which results in wastage of antioxidants. In addition, since antioxidants coated or sprayed on the surface, the stability and efficiency of antioxidants are affected by ambient conditions during storage. The aim of this study was to prepare a novel antioxidant film by incorporating a-tocopherol-chitosan nanoparticles with a chitosan/montmorillonite film, and investigate their antioxidant activity on sliced dry-cured ham during 120 days of storage at 4 °C. Our results show that compared with the chitosan and chitosan/montmorillonite films, the biceps femoris muscle of the sliced ham coated with a-tocopherol-chitosan nanoparticles with chitosan/montmorillonite film showed significantly-reduced lipid oxidation during 120 days of storage. These results provide an alternative approach for developing an efficient and long-term antioxidant treatment to reduce lipid oxidation in food products.

Technical Abstract: The aim of this work was to prepare a novel antioxidant film by incorporating a-tocopherol-chitosan nanoparticles (TOC-CSNPs) with chitosan/montmorillonite film (namely, TOC-CSNPs/CS/MMT), and investigate the antioxidant activity of TOC-CSNPs/CS/MMT film on sliced dry-cured ham in a period of 120 days at 4 °C. Positively charged TOC-CSNPs with the average sizes of 214 nm were prepared using TPP-initiated ionic gelation mechanism. The amount of TOC-CSNPs was optimized based on the changes of water vapor permeability (WVP), water solubility and swelling ratio of the film. The TOC-CSNPs/CS/MMT film showed 46.5% radical scavenging activity after 16 days of storage, which was 23 times and 27 times higher than that of CS/MMT and CS film, respectively. The antioxidant activity of TOC-CSNPs/CS/MMT film was evaluated by measuring the peroxide value (POV) and thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) values of sliced dry-cured ham coated with the TOC-CSNPs/CS/MMT film-forming solutions. The results indicated that compared with the CS (0.42 g/100 g for POV, 0.65 mg/kg for TBARs) and CS/MMT (0.38 mg/kg for POV, 0.59 mg/kg for TBARs) films, the biceps femoris muscle of the sliced ham coated with TOC-CSNPs/CS/MMT film showed much lower values of POV (0.15 g/100 g) and TBARs (0.15 mg/kg) during 120 days of storage. These results provide a theoretical basis for developing efficient and long-term antioxidant approach, which is crucial for improving and enhancing the quality of food products.