Recent Trends in the Use of Natural Antioxidants for Meat and Meat Products

TLDR

Antioxidants are added to meat products to prevent lipid oxidation, off‑flavors, and color loss, and the industry prefers natural over synthetic types due to toxicity concerns, though extracting and characterizing these natural compounds remains challenging. This review aims to overview current trends in using natural antioxidants for meat and meat products, providing in‑depth information on their applications. The review discusses extraction methods, in‑vitro and in‑product antioxidant activity, and the mechanisms by which natural compounds exert their effects.

Abstract

Abstract Antioxidants are added to fresh and processed meat and meat products to prevent lipid oxidation, retard development of off‐flavors, and improve color stability. In the food industry, they can be divided into natural and synthetic antioxidants. Synthetic antioxidants have been confirmed for their toxicological and carcinogenic effects. Thus, the food industry now chooses natural products over synthetic ones. This review provides an overview of the current trends in the use of antioxidants from natural sources, for potential applications in meat and meat products. These natural antioxidants contain some active compounds, which exert antioxidative potential in meat and meat products by different mechanisms of action. The efficient extraction of these antioxidants from their natural sources, along with establishing their in vitro and in producto antioxidant activity, has been a great challenge for researchers engaged in this field. Therefore, this review is focused on all these aspects, along with current studies related to this area, to provide in‐depth information to readers.