Abstract:
Antioxidant efficacy of different concentrations of phenolic compounds of coconut cake (PCCC) was determined using pork as a food model system. The extracts of PCCC were prepared using ethanol: water (70:30 v/v) and the antioxidant activity of the extracts on formation of thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) was evaluated using a spectrophotometric method. Malondialdehyde, a secondary product of the oxidation of polyunsaturated fatty acids reacts with thiobarbituric acid and yield a pinkish red chromogen with an absorbance maximum at 532 nm. The effect of PCCC at 50, 100 and 200 ?g/g meat was compared with that of butylated hydroxy toluene (BHT) 200 ?g/ g and tert butylated hydroquinone (TBHQ) 200 ?g/ g. The extracts were effective in inhibiting the oxidation of pork in comparison with the control with no added phenolic extracts which showed the highest TBARS values during the storage period. At the end of day 5 of storage the inhibition percentage of TBARS are 26 � 9, 35� 7, 54� 4, 54� 4 and 56� 5 for TBHQ, BHT, PCCC 50, PCCC 100 and PCCC 200 respectively. PCCC were effective in suppressing the formation of TBARS in the employed system and their activity is higher than that of BHT and TBHQ. Coconut cake may be considered as a cheap potential source of phenolic compounds effective in stabilizing lipid foods.