Hydrolytic and Oxidative Changes in the Lipids of Chicken Breast and Thigh Muscles During Refrigerated Storage

Abstract

ABSTRACT: The changes in free fatty acid (FFA) amount and composition and in Thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) were simultaneously determined in chicken breast and thigh muscles at intervals between 1 and 14 d of storage at 4 °C (1, 3, 7, 10, 14). The rates of lipid hydrolysis were fast in the first 3 d and then slowed until day 14; phospholipids showed the same pattern but hydrolysis of triacylglycerols was linear at least in thigh muscles. Oxidation increased linearly during storage. Thigh muscles contained 3 times more FFAs than breast muscles and 2 to 4 times less TBARS suggesting that lipolysis did not favor lipid oxidation although both increased concomitantly.