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RESEARCH PRODUCT

Role of sodium nitrite on phospholipid composition of cooked cured ham. Relation to its flavor

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Abstract The role of sodium nitrite on phospholipid composition was studied during the processing of cooked cured ham. Evolution of the different classes of phospholipids in raw meat, cured meat with brine injected at 0, 50 and 100 mg of sodium nitrite/kg meat, and cooked meat, was determined as well as fatty acid content of phosphatidyl choline and phosphatidyl ethanolamine in raw and cooked meat. The major effect of sodium nitrite was observed on phosphatidyl ethanolamine whose content was significantly lowered in the presence of this salt. This effect was observed at the end of the curing process and was not modified by the cooking. The fatty acid content between raw meat and cooked cured eeat showed the strongest effect of sodium nitrite on arachidonic acid, for both phosphatidyl choline and phosphatidyl ethanolamine. This fatty acid was degraded preferentially in the presence of this salt, probably due to its high level of unsaturation. Known volatile odorant compounds typical from polyunsaturated fatty acid oxidation (hexanal, oct-1-en-3-ol,…) were observed in lower amounts in cooked meat cured with sodium nitrite. The content of these volatile compounds is usually measured in order to evaluate the lipid oxidation level in meat. In our study, nitrite treated meat contained less of these compounds concomitant with a lowered phosphatidyl ethanolamine content, especially for one of its major fatty acid, arachidonic acid. Further investigations are needed to understand the oxidation route of this polyunsaturated fatty acid in the presence of sodium nitrite.