Inhibition of benzo[a]pyrene formation in charcoal‐grilled pork sausages by ginger and its key compounds

Abstract

BACKGROUND Ginger and its extracts have been frequently used in food processing and pharmaceuticals. However, the influence of ginger and its key compounds on benzo[a]pyrene (BaP) production in meat processing has not been investigated. The purpose of this study was to explore the effect of application of ginger and its important active ingredients on BaP formation and the mechanism of inhibiting BaP formation in charcoal‐grilled pork sausages. RESULTS The DPPH scavenging (23.59–59.67%) activity and the inhibition rate of BaP (42.1–68.9%) were significantly increased (P < 0.05) with increasing ginger addition. The active components extracted by supercritical carbon dioxide from ginger were identified by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry and 14 representative compounds (four terpenes, two alcohols, two aldehydes, four phenols and two other compounds, totaling 77.57% of the detected compounds) were selected. The phenolic compounds (eugenol, 6‐gingerol, 6‐paradol and 6‐shogaol, accounting for 29.73% of the total composition) in ginger played a key role and had the strongest inhibitory effect on BaP (61.2–68.2%), whereas four other kinds of compound showed obviously feeble inhibitory activity (6.47–17.9%). Charcoal‐grilled sausages with phenolic substances had lower values of thiobarbituric acid‐reactive substances, carbonyl and diene (three classic indicators of lipid oxidation) (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION Ginger and its key compounds could effectively inhibit the formation of BaP in charcoal‐grilled pork sausages. Phenolic compounds make the strongest contribution to the inhibition of Bap formation, and the inhibitory mechanism was related to the inhibition of lipid oxidation. © 2023 Society of Chemical Industry.

Degradation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in smoked sausages by ultraviolet irradiation

“…Smoked sausages are particularly popular among consumers worldwide, especially in many western provinces of China, where it is said that no banquet is complete without smoked sausage. However, the fumigation process generates polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), a group of hydrocarbons containing two or more benzene rings 2 . Depending on the number of condensed rings, PAHs are categorized into light‐ring PAHs (LPAHs, 2–4 rings) and heavy‐ring PAHs (HPAHs, ≥ 5 rings) depending on the number of condensed rings, with the latter being more persistent and difficult to degrade 2 …”