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Strategies to Enhance Cultivation of Anaerobic Bacteria from Gastrointestinal Tract of Chicken
Published on: May 10, 2024
Green antimicrobial intervention during pre-cooling: ultrasound-enhanced lactic acid improves chicken meat quality -
Tianran Huang1, Yating Liu1, Lingqi Li1
1State Key Laboratory of Meat Quality Control and Cultured Meat Development, Key Laboratory of Meat Processing; Jiangsu Innovative Center of Meat Production, Processing and Quality Control; College of Food Science and Technology, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, China.
Abstract:
This study investigated the synergistic effects of ultrasound combined with lactic acid (LA) during the pre-cooling of yellow-feathered chicken carcasses, offering an environmentally friendly, chlorine-free antimicrobial solution. Ultrasound at ≥6000 W effectively removed epidermal pollutants and contaminated hair follicles. The synergy of LA + ultrasound resulted in substantial reductions in total colony counts, coliform counts, and Pseudomonas counts, outperforming the efficacy of LA alone. Molecular dynamics simulations, as well as microstructural analysis of the epidermis and quantitative detection of sub-epidermis LA, confirmed that ultrasonic cavitation facilitated LA penetration through bacterial cell membranes and loosened epidermal structures to enhance beneficial penetration. High-power ultrasound (≥7500 W) improved tenderness via the collagen network relaxation and caspase-3 activation, increased immobilized water, and enhanced water-holding capacity without affecting the pH or inducing lipid oxidation. Volatile profiling revealed marked reductions in microbial-derived off-flavor compounds due to the synergy of LA + ultrasound.
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