Lipid Oxidation in Cured Meat Model Systems Containing Either Antioxidant or Prooxidant: A Comparative Study on the Determination of Malondialdehyde Concentration by Using Conventional, Test Kit and Chromatographic Assays

The impacts of curing plus antioxidant or prooxidant inclusion in model meat systems on malondialdehyde (MDA) levels detected by three different assays as spectrophotometry (M-1), test kit (M-2), and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC, M-3) were explored. Four different treatments that included non-cured, cured, cured plus zeaxanthin-added, and cured plus ferric iron-added meat systems were produced. MDA levels during storage recorded by M-1 were higher than both M-2 (up to 29-fold) and M-3 (up to 53-fold). The effects of curing were visibly detected by all assays, whereas the impacts of antioxidant or prooxidant addition were more obvious when determined by M-2 and M-3. Despite the variations within numerical values, both M-1 and M-2 presented strong correlations with M-3. Overall, it was concluded that spectrophotometric assays could be reliable on condition that acceptable coefficients are utilized to avoid overestimation. Besides, the simultaneous improvement and simplification of chromatographic techniques as well as rapid test kits would pave the way for their widespread use.