INFLUENCE OF DIETARY BETA-ALANINE AND HISTIDINE ON THE OXIDATIVE STABILITY OF PORK

Carnosine (beta-alanine-L-histidine) and anserine (beta-alanine-1-meth yl histidine) ape endogenous antioxidants found in skeletal muscle. Th e objective of this research was to determine if supplementation of sw ine diets with histidine (histidine; 0.40%) and/or beta-alanine (beta- alanine; 0.225%) was an effective method to increase carnosine and ans erine concentrations and the oxidative stability of Longissimus dorsi (LD) and Vastus intermedius (VI) muscles. Dietary treatments had no ef fect on carnosine and anserine concentrations in LD; however, histidin e + beta-alanine supplementation increased carnosine and anserine in V I muscle compared to beta-alanine supplementation. Dietary supplementa tion had no effect on the formation of thiobarbituric acid reactive (T BARS) or lipid peroxides in cooked VI and LD. In salted VI and LD musc le, differences in TEARS and peroxides were observed; however, these d ifferences did not consistently correlate with differences in anserine and carnosine concentrations. Therefore, the results of this research suggest that supplementation of swine diets with beta-alanine and/or histidine is not an efficient method to increase the oxidative stabili ty of pork. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.