Valorization of underutilized North American pawpaw (Asimina triloba): investigation as a lipid oxidation inhibitor in turkey homogenate model system.

BACKGROUND: The objective of this study was to characterize the ability of extracts from nine varieties of pawpaw pulp standardized to the phenolics level of 0.1% grape seed extract (GSE) on inhibition of the formation of thiobarbituric reactive substances (TBARS) in a turkey model system. The antioxidant activity of the extracts was also determined using four common assays.

RESULTS: Over the 240 min sampling time, the standardized pawpaw extracts from all nine varieties were as effective as GSE in inhibiting TBARS formation in turkey muscle homogenate compared to the untreated control. Extracts from all pawpaw varieties and GSE began to inhibit TBARS formation at 60 min of incubation, and by 240 min TBARS were reduced from 35 μmol malondialdehyde kg-1 tissue in the homogenate to which no antioxidant was added to 4-18 μmol malondialdehyde kg-1 tissue in the antioxidant-enriched extracts. There does not appear to be a clear relationship between inhibition of TBARS and any of the antioxidant capacity measurements (ORAC, DPPH inhibition, reducing potential as measured by FRAP assay, or pyrogallol red bleaching).

CONCLUSION: The results of this research indicate that there is potential to add value to pawpaw as a functional food source of natural antioxidants, particularly in meat products. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry.