Myoglobin as a molecular biomarker for meat authentication and traceability

Area of Science:

• Food Science
• Analytical Chemistry
• Biomarker Discovery

Background:

• Economically motivated meat adulteration is a significant global food industry problem.
• Undeclared species are added to high-value meat products, necessitating effective detection methods.
• Myoglobin (Mb), a meat protein, is key to meat color and shows potential for fraud detection.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review the utility of myoglobin (Mb) as a biomarker for detecting undeclared species in meat products.
• To assess Mb's suitability for easy, rapid, and cost-effective meat fraud authentication.
• To evaluate methods for Mb detection, avoiding complex or expensive instrumentation.

Main Methods:

• Review of existing analytical techniques for meat fraud detection, including DNA-based, protein-based, and spectroscopic methods.
• Focus on myoglobin's properties: solubility, spectrophotometric monitoring at 409 nm, and species specificity.
• Evaluation of Mb's potential as a rapid, accessible biomarker.

Main Results:

• Myoglobin (Mb) is a species-specific sarcoplasmic haemoprotein crucial for meat color.
• Mb is highly soluble in water and can be monitored spectrophotometrically at 409 nm.
• Existing methods for meat fraud detection vary in complexity and cost.

Conclusions:

• Myoglobin (Mb) shows significant promise as a molecular biomarker for detecting undeclared species in meat.
• Mb offers a pathway for easy, rapid, and cost-effective meat fraud authentication.
• Further exploration of Mb-based methods could reduce reliance on sophisticated equipment and specialized expertise.