Enhancing colour and oxidative stabilities of reduced-nitrite turkey meat sausages during refrigerated storage using fucoxanthin purified from the Tunisian seaweed Cystoseira barbata

- Fucoxanthin (FX) was purified from the Tunisian seaweed Cystoseira barbata.
- CBFX exhibited potent antioxidant activity and strong in vitro antihypertensive potential.
- For the first time, FX was added as a food additive in the formulation of reduced-nitrites turkey meat sausages.
- CBFX delayed the lipid oxidation and improved the colour stability of meat sausage over 15 days of refrigerated storage.

The present study investigated the angiotensin-I converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitory activity and the antioxidant properties, in vitro and in cured meat sausages containing reduced levels of sodium nitrite, of fucoxanthin extracted from the Tunisian brown seaweed Cystoseira barbata (CBFX). Results revealed that CBFX exhibited great scavenging activities against DPPH free radicals (EC50 = 136 μg/ml), peroxyl radicals in the linoleate-β-carotene system (EC50 = 43 μg/ml) and hydroxyl radicals generated by Fenton reaction (DNA nicking assay). A considerable ferric reducing potential was also recorded for CBFX (EC50 = 34 μg/ml). It is interesting to note that CBFX was found to modulate the ACE activity, which is the key enzyme involved in the blood pressure regulation, with an EC50 of 5 μg/ml. When fucoxanthin was supplemented, the concentration of sodium nitrite added to cured turkey meat sausages was reduced from 150 to 80 ppm, coupled with the enhancement of colour and oxidative stabilities. Thus, CBFX, with noticeable antioxidant and antihyertensive effects, could be used as a natural additive in functional foods to alleviate potential human health hazards caused by carcinogenic nitrosamines formation.