Effect of rosemary on lipid oxidation in pressure-processed, minced chicken breast during refrigerated storage and subsequent heat treatment

The protective effect of rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis L.) against lipid oxidation and tocopherol degradation in minced, pressure-processed chicken breast with 0.5% salt added was investigated during chill storage for 9 days and/or subsequent heat treatment by measurement of head-space hexanal and pentanal together with thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) and alpha- and gamma-tocopherol. High-pressure processing at 600 MPa for 10 min led to a significant increase in secondary lipid oxidation products in minced chicken breast without rosemary, when compared to chicken breast with rosemary added. During subsequent chill storage, the level of secondary lipid oxidation products decreased slightly. For samples heated after pressure treatment and chill storage to mimic cooking, levels of secondary lipid oxidation products were higher than for the uncooked samples and rosemary was very efficient in preventing the oxidative process also during cooking, while the length of the chill storage period prior to cooking had little effect. Higher levels of alpha- and gamma-tocopherol were found in all samples with rosemary compared to samples without rosemary, indicating that rosemary also protects tocopherols against degradation in pressurized chicken breast during chill storage and/or subsequent heat treatment.221561061