Influences of Growth-Related Myopathies on Peptide Patterns of In Vitro Digested Cooked Chicken Breast and...

The objective of this study was to determine the effects of growth-related myopathies, i.e., normal, wooden breast (WB), white striping (WS), and the combined lesions of WS and WB (WS + WB), on the molecular response of Caco-2 cells. A total of 24 cooked chicken breasts (n = 6 per myopathy) was subjected to an in vitro digestion using an enzymatic process mimicking human gastrointestinal digestion. Based on peptidomics, in vitro protein digestion of the abnormal samples, particularly WB meat, resulted in more peptides with lower molecular mass relative to those of normal samples. The cooked meat hydrolysates obtained at the end of the digestion were applied to a Caco-2 cell model for 4 h. The cell viability of treated normal and abnormal samples was not different (p ≥ 0.05). Absolute transcript abundances of genes associated with primary oxidative stress response, including nuclear factor erythroid 2 like 2, superoxide dismutase, and hypoxia-inducible factor 1 were determined using a droplet digital polymerase chain reaction. No significant differences in transcript abundance of those genes in Caco-2 cells were demonstrated between normal and the abnormal samples (p ≥ 0.05). Overall, the findings supported that, compared to normal meat, the cooked chicken meat with growth-related myopathies might be digested and absorbed to a greater extent. The cooked abnormal meat did not exert significant transcriptional impacts regarding oxidative stress on the human epithelial Caco-2 cells.