Avaliação da atividade antioxidante do óleo volátil de noz-moscada (Myristica fragrans) aplicado em copa suína

Abstract

The extraordinary growth in the healthy meat products development driven by investments and technological innovations that improve their quality. Pork coppa stands out as a product with high added value. Characterized by its appearance and structure of cured, matured and dried meat, being appreciated for its characteristic flavor. The quality of pork coppa is influenced by several factors, including the chemical composition of the crude meat, manufacturing process and storage conditions. Lipid oxidation being one of the main contributors to its variations, resulting in rancidity and nutritional loss. In this context, antioxidants play a crucial role in food quality preservation. Nutmeg, rich in phenolic compounds, especially myristicin, was evaluated in this study as antioxidant potential when applied to pork coppa. The volatile oil was obtained by hydrodistillation, and its antioxidant activity was measured by the DPPH assay, revealed an IC50 of 0.0725 mg/L, establishing a strong antioxidant activity. The pork coppa, produced according to IN 22/2000 specifications, was enriched with volatile nutmeg oil in concentrations of 0.10%, 0.15% and 0.20%. The effect of volatile nutmeg oil was evaluated by the TBARS method, and it was shown that the addition of volatile nutmeg oil delayed lipid oxidation, presenting similar performance to the commercial antioxidants sodium erythorbate. The color evaluation (L*, a* and b*) demonstrated that the volatile nutmeg oil worked to maintain the color of the pork coppa. These results highlight the promising potential of nutmeg to improve pork products stability and quality, providing an innovative approach that combines tradition and production technology.