DISTINCTION OF FRESH FROM FROZEN-THAWED BUFFALO MEAT USING Β-HYDROXYLACYL-COA-DEHYDROGENASES (HADH) ASSAY

The present study aimed to differentiate the fresh from frozen-thawed buffalo meat in the supply chain using a simple enzyme-based method. In the buffalo meat supply chain, due to faulty cold chain maintenance and irregular power supply, the meat gets repeatedly thawed which ultimately leads to quality deterioration. The buffalo meat samples were divided into three groups namely fresh (no freezing and thawing), 1st FT (meat was frozen at -18±2oC for 48 h followed by thawing at 4±1oC for 12 h), and 2nd FT (1st FT meat was again frozen at -18±2oC for 48 h followed by thawing at 4±1oC for 12 h). The meat press juice was collected from meat samples for HADH enzyme activity estimation. The meat quality parameters (pH, antioxidant activity, water holding capacity, cooking loss, thawing loss, extract release volume, microbiological count, and color) were also determined for correlation with HADH enzyme activity using Pearson’s two-tailed correlation. The enzyme assay showed that HADH concentration significantly (P<0.05) increased from 2.82±0.06 U/mL (fresh) to 6.77±0.05 U/mL and 9.63±0.06 U/mL for 1st FT and 2nd FT, respectively signifying its dependency on freeze-thaw cycles. The findings of meat quality parameters obtained for buffalo meat at different freeze-thaw cycles correlate significantly (r>0.90) with the HADH activity thereby indicating the deterioration of meat quality with an increase in the number of freeze-thaw cycles. Therefore, the HADH enzyme assay in meat press juice and meat quality parameters could be used to differentiate fresh from frozen-thawed buffalo meat.