Quality enhancement of chilled sardine (Sardina pilchardus) by employment of quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.) extract

Poster.-- WEFTA Seafood science for a change demand, held in Bilbao from the 9th to the 11th June 2014To extend the shelf life time during storage of fatty fish species, the employment of natural antioxidants represent a relevant choice. Recent efforts have focused on the positive role of antioxidant molecules present in different kinds of plant extracts. Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.) is a native plant of the Andean region and has aroused great technological and commercial interest for both human and animal feeding because of the presence of high-protein content and a balanced amino acid presence. In the latest few years, this plant has attracted a great attention because of its antioxidant activity, playing an important role as functional and nutraceutical food. The present research was focussed on the quality loss of sardine (Sardina pilchardus) during its chill storage. Its basic objective was to investigate the effect of including an aqueous-ethanol extract of quinoa in the icing medium employed. For it, aqueous solutions of varying concentrations of quinoa extracts were individually tested as icing medium, being quality changes monitored for a 12-day chill storage of fish. A sensory quality enhancement was evident in sardine as a result of including increasing quinoa extract contents in the icing medium. Marked performances were obtained in sensory descriptors such as external odour and raw- and cooked-muscle odours; on the contrary, descriptors such as skin, consistency and muscle taste were hardly affected by the presence of plant extracts. Quinoa-treated fish were still acceptable at day 12, while control fish was found rejectable at this time. Concerning chemical assessments, an inhibitory effect of quinoa extracts on lipid damage development (free fatty acid and fluorescent compound assessments) and microbial activity (trimethylamine formation) was observed. However, the determination of peroxide value, thiobarbituric acid index, and total volatile base-nitrogen content did not imply a significant effect for the quinoa extract presence in the icing mediumN