Bleeding Influencing Color, Physical-Chemical Quality, and Texture Profile of Pirarucu (Arapaima Gigas) from Amazon, Brazil

Abstract

Pirarucu (Arapaima gigas) fishing and meat contribute socio-economically to the Amazon population, with recovering stocks resulting from the pirarucu management in the Middle Juruá region. The ventral portion of arapaima (belly) is widely consumed due to the high lipid content, which can predispose lipid and protein oxidative reactions. Differences among fishing practices, including the bleeding, may influence the quality and acceptance of the meat. In this context, we evaluated the effect of bleeding on the physical-chemical quality, color, and texture of bellies of arapaima obtained from sustainable community-based management. The bellies were obtained from ten (n=10) pirarucu carcasses. Five (n = 5) animals were slaughtered with bleeding by the gills (BLE) and five (n = 5) animals without bleeding (NON-BLE). Pirarucu bellies were sliced and assigned randomly for 0, 3, 6, and 9 days at 4oC to analyze pH, water holding capacity, instrumental color, and texture profile. NON-BLE exhibited greater (P < 0.05) redness and yellowness than BLE samples, whereas BLE exhibited greater (P < 0.05) color stability than their correlative BLE samples. BLE bellies exhibited greater (P < 0.05) hardness and chewiness than in NON-BLE counterparts. During storage, both BLE and NON-BLE exhibited an increase (P < 0.05) in pH. BLE bellies demonstrated a decrease (P < 0.05) in yellowness and color stability, whereas an increase (P < 0.05) in hardness and chewiness were observed in the same samples. These findings indicated that bleeding could improve the pirarucu meat quality.

Pre-Slaughter Stunning Methods Influence the Meat Quality of Arapaima gigas Fillets

“…Concerning red colouration, A. gigas exhibited more significant redness following preslaughter stunning methods applying bleeding and more yellowish without bleeding [43]. This result can be attributed to the maintenance of haem pigments such as haemoglobin and myoglobin in the muscle, contributing to an increase in red colouration.…”

“…Regarding instrumental colourimetry, in a study by Bassil et al [43], A. gigas were subjected to the bleeding method without first undergoing pre-slaughtering. There was no difference in brightness on 0, 3, 6 and 9 days.…”

“…Similar to redness, higher b* values can be attributed to the presence of haem pigments (haemoglobin and myoglobin) in the samples. There is a high content of polyunsaturated fatty acids in A. gigas fillets [43]. This, in turn, may favour lipid-oxidation-induced myoglobin oxidation [51] and metmyoglobin accumulation in fillets [52], contributing to increased b*a values throughout the last 10 days of refrigerated storage.…”