Antioxidants In Food

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Introduction

Meat is an invaluable source of high-value animal protein across many regions of the globe. Around the world, the diets of relatively more ruralised populations are characterised by a low proportion of meat, poultry and other animal products than the more varied diets of urbanised communities (Valsta, Tapanainen, & Mannisto, 2005). The most common function of meat is to provide the body with essential amino acids as it provides the highest amount of protein per unit energy of all foods (Schonfeldt & Hall, 2012). However, we have come to learn that there are also many other compounds in meat which promote health. Some of these compounds include: Conjugated Linoleic Acid (CLA), L-carnitine, free amino acids and ACE-inhibiting …show more content…

Dipeptides are produced from polypeptides by the action of the hydrolase enzyme dipeptidyl peptidase.

As the name suggests, antioxidants are nutrients (vitamins and minerals) as well as enzymes (proteins in your body that assist in chemical reactions) that are capable of counteracting the negative, but normal, effects of the physiological process of oxidation in the body.

Various studies have been carried out on several antioxidants which are commonly found in meat and other meat products, e.g. uric acid, glutathione, carnosine, and anserine. Anserine (N-β-alanyl-1-methyl-L-histidine) and carnosine (β-alanyl-L-histidine) are both antioxidative histidyl dipeptides and have been proven to be the most common antioxidants in meat (Young et al., 2013). The concentrations of carnosine in meat vary from animal to animal similar to Conjugated Linoleic Acid. 500 mg of carnosine per kg of meat has been found in chicken thighs while 2700 mg per kg of meat has been found in pork shoulder. On the other hand, anserine is especially abundant in chicken muscle. Their antioxidant properties may result from their ability to chelate transition metals e.g. copper (Arihara, 2006). Carnosine and anserine are both regarded as chelating agents. A chelating agent is a substance whose molecules can form several bonds to a single metal ion. This property is important to remove unwanted metal ions e.g. copper and …show more content…

Carnitine is mainly introduced to the body in the diet through meat and dairy products. Carnitine can also be produced in the body. It is usually synthesised using the amino acids lysine and methionine. Though carnitine in human tissues is found in free and esterified forms, free carnitine (L Carnitine) occupies approximately 80% of total carnitine levels in these tissues under normal conditions. L Carnitine has many functions in the body. Its main function is to facilitate the transfer of long-chain fatty acids across the inner mitochondrial membranes in the cell so that that they can be oxidised (b-oxidation). Because of this function of carnitine, a deficiency in humans is associated with myopathy (a collection neuromuscular disorders in which the main symptom is muscle weakness due to muscle fibres not contracting and relaxing as they should), and also compromised fatty acid oxidation. Another function of L Carnitine is to act as a buffer to the excess production of acetyl coenzyme A in the mitochondria by producing the compound acetyl carnitine. This process produces the free coenzyme A which is an important substrate for energy metabolism which mostly occurs in the mitochondria which are found in the cells. Acetyl coenzyme A is a vital intermediate in glucose and fatty acid metabolism, and normally

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