Avaliação do uso de chá verde (Camellia sinensis) na vida útil de linguiça de frango

Abstract

The interest in healthy foods has become a global trend, promoting the growth of the search for natural and health-beneficial alternatives to replace synthetic additives. Green tea (Camellia sinensis) is rich in antioxidant compounds such as catechins, flavonoids, polyphenols, and caffeine, which makes it a possible option as a substitute for synthetic antioxidants, whose consumption has been associated with adverse effects. This study aimed to investigate the effects of the addition of commercial green tea extract on the chemical, physicochemical, microbiological, and sensory characteristics of chicken sausage since there are no studies, to date, on the use of Camellia sinensis extract in fresh chicken sausage. Four formulations of fresh chicken sausage were prepared, using chicken breast, thigh, and drumstick cuts as raw material. The formulations differed from each other in the type and concentration of antioxidant, being: formulation without antioxidant (FN), control or standard formulation (FC), added with 0.5% sodium erythorbate; Formulation 1 (F1) added with commercial green tea extract 0.05% (w/w) and Formulation 2 (F2) with commercial green tea extract at a concentration of 1% (w/w). Initially, the different treatments' centesimal composition and physicochemical properties were analyzed, which did not show significant differences (p>0.05). Formulation F1 did not differ from FN regarding total acidity, while FC showed a higher value (p<0.05). Subsequently, thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) were analyzed at 0, 10, and 21 days. The TBARS values of all formulations tended to increase with the storage period, but F2 (1.0%) was more effective than the formulation with sodium erythorbate (FC) on the 21st day of storage. The L* values were similar (p>0.05) between the formulations, with results ranging from 59.26 to 67.73. Regarding the* parameter, FN and FC showed the same behavior during storage (p>0.05), and all of them showed similarity (p>0.05) regarding the tendency to become redder, with results between 0.75 and 11.41. In the b* parameter, the values ranged from 10.92 to 20.53, and F1 and F2 increased significantly at each time evaluated (p<0.05). The chroma (C*) showed a significant difference (p<0.05) for F1 and F2 (time 10), and the samples presented results between 11.33 and 23.51. The h parameter showed a significant difference (p<0.05) at time 0 and 10, while at time 21, they showed similarity (p>0.05), with results between 59.03 and 86.99. Microbiological analyses of mesophilic and psychrotrophic aerobes were performed. For mesophilic aerobes, all formulations maintained the enumeration within the permitted by law and did not differ from each other (p>0.05). However, the psychrotrophic values were >1.3x106 from 21 days onwards. The sensory analysis was performed by predominantly male tasters between 18 and 25 years of age, where the formulations did not differ, with scores between 7.00 and 8.00 (p>0.05). The purchase intention scores were between 3.79 and 4.10. Therefore, green tea extract can substitute synthetic antioxidants at 1% (w/w) for chicken sausage.