Production of fermented spicy rabbit meat using Lactobacillus paracasei

• Published in: Bioprocess and biosystems engineering 2022, Vol.45 (1), p.87-95
• Main Authors: Zhao, Xingxiu, Li, Shilu, Liu, Yuanhao, He, Yiguo, Hu, Rong, Yang, Jiao, Wang, Qi
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Amino acids; Animals; Aroma compounds; Biotechnology; Chemistry; Chemistry and Materials Science; Environmental Engineering/Biotechnology; Fermentation; Flavor compounds; Flavors; Food Science; Industrial and Production Engineering; Industrial Chemistry/Chemical Engineering; Lactobacilli; Lactobacillus - metabolism; Lactobacillus paracasei; Meat; Meat Products; Microorganisms; Microstructure; Muscles; Nutrient content; Organoleptic properties; pH effects; Proteins; Rabbits; Research Paper; Scanning electron microscopy; Solid phase methods; Solid phases; Texture; Volatile compounds
• ISSN: 1615-7591; 1615-7605
• DOI: 10.1007/s00449-021-02642-3

Lactobacillus paracasei was used to produce fermented spicy rabbit meat. A series of indexes were determined, including pH value, free amino acid content, true protein content, texture, microstructure and the volatile compounds of fermented spicy rabbit meat and unfermented spicy rabbit meat. The results showed that Lactobacillus paracasei could reduce the pH value of spicy rabbit meat (from 6.85 to 4.65), could degrade the proteins of spicy rabbit meat, could increase the content of free amino acids (from 205.1 mg/100 g to 505.6 mg/100 g), and could improve its textural properties and organoleptic quality of the spicy rabbit meat. The microstructure of the fermented spicy rabbit meat and unfermented spicy rabbit meat was observed by scanning electron microscope. The results showed that the microstructure of the fermented spicy rabbit meat changed obviously, the arrangement of muscle fibers was loose or even seriously broken, and many small pieces were formed, which indicated that the fermentation could improve the tenderness of the rabbit meat. The kinds of volatile flavor compounds after fermentation were increased from 14 to 40 as estimated by solid phase microextraction and GC–MS. Therefore, utilization of microbial fermentation technology can improve the quality, texture, tenderness and flavor of spicy rabbit meat, and enhance the digestion and absorption capacity.