Design of functional meat rich in antioxidant dietary fiber from avocado and mango peels

Introduction: Despite scientific and technological efforts to prevent the accumulation of several fruit wastes, such waste ispoorly re-used for valorization, having a negative impact on the environment and increasing the cost of management, representing alternative sources of bioactive compounds required for the food/pharma/cosmetical and fine chemistry industries. This work reports the use of mango and avocado peels as a potential source of antioxidant dietary fiber (DF) to design a functional meat.

Methods: Avocado and mango peels were evaluated by chemical composition, scanning electron microscopy and functional properties. The antioxidant DF was used to formulate meat for a burger, which was physicochemically (according to the following AOAC methods), microbially (yeasts, moulds, mesophilic aerobic bacteria, psychrotrophic bacteria, total coliforms, etc.) and sensorially (overall acceptability) evaluated. The water activity of the DF was determined using the Aqua Lab equipment (Decagon Devices, 3TE, USA). The evaluation of lipid oxidation was performed using the thiobarbituric acid index and quantified as free equivalents of malondialdehyde (MDA).

Results: The DF had desirable techno-functional capabilities; particularly, the water and oil holding capacities were impressive, as was the swelling water capacity. The percentage values showed a significant increase in fiber intake in patties treated with DF compared to traditional formulations. The samples complied with microbiological standards. The evaluation results of the meat samples reveal significant variation in the taste, perceived by consumers. The ratings cover a wide range of flavor categories, indicating that the choice of sample influences meat flavor perception ("Strong taste characteristic of the ingredients and spices used" and "Agreeable taste characteristic of funcitonal meat").

Conclusion: Antioxidant DF ispotentially a profitable, functional and sustainable ingredient for different applications in agroindustry. The results demonstrated that antioxidant DF improved the technofunctional and nutritional properties of meat, permitting the possibility of designing a functional popular product.