REVIEW ON DIETARY TOCOPHEROL ACCUMULATION ON PORK TISSUES AND ITS MEMBRANE ANTIOXIDANT ROLE AGAINST LIPID OXIDATION

Abstract

Lipid oxidation prejudices meat quality by degrading polyunsaturated fatty acids to volatile short chain compounds that are the source of undesirable flavours and odours which reduce the appeal of products to consumers. The current review is a comprehensive study dealing with the effect the way tocopherol is absorbed by direct incorporation into diet in the intestine and then transported to the liver and distributed throughout the body, reaching out the highest amount in microsomes and mitochondria. Cumulative results of previous studies and experiments indicates that the susceptibility of meat to lipid oxidation is influenced by the α-tocopherol content of meat and PUFA content of the membrane phospholipids. Within the frame of the review we provide confirmation of the positive effect of dietary vitamin E levels on lipid oxidation by studying and analyzing published experiments where lipid oxidation was measured and where vitamin E accumulation was evaluated, established a quantitative relationship between dietary vitamin E alone and in conjunction with other antioxidants and its effects on pork meat quality.