Green tea extract improved minced mutton quality during chilled storage

Abstract

Natural antioxidant has been used to prevent lipid oxidation and microbiological development in meat and meat products. This study was carried out to evaluate the effects of different concentrations of green tea extract on minced mutton quality during chilled storage. The minced mutton was divided into 5 treatment groups, with TGE1 as negative control while TGE2, TGE3, TGE4 and TGE5 were added with green tea extracts at 0.5%, 1%, 1.5% and 2%, respectively. The pH, myoglobin, water holding capacity (WHC), drip and cooking loss of minced mutton were studied during chilled storage at days 0, 3, 6, 9 and 12. Present findings showed that minced mutton added with green tea extract had significantly higher (P<0.05) pH, myoglobin content and WHC than the untreated control group at days 3, 6, 9 and 12. In addition, minced mutton with added green tea extract also had significantly lower (P<0.05) drip and cooking loss than the control group. This study also showed that a higher concentration of green tea extract added had a better effect on the meat quality traits measured. Taken together, these results indicate that the addition of green tea extract improved the minced mutton quality.