Attenuation of frozen storage-induced toxicity in beef via incorporation of culinary spices

The shelf-life of meat products in cold storage is primarily hampered by oxidative reactions. Thus, the effects of three proven antioxidant culinary spices, Rhaphiostylis beninensis, Piper guineense, and Xylopia aethiopica, and their combined extract formulations on the oxidative stability of beef samples were investigated. Raw beef samples were immersed in 5%, 10%, and 15% formulations of each of the said spice extracts, their combined extract formulations, distilled water devoid of any additive (negative control), and butylated hydroxyl toluene (standard) respectively, and frozen at − 18 °C for 28 days. The experimental, control, and standard groups were evaluated and compared at the start, and on storage days 4, 8, 12, 16, 20, 24, and 28 for malondialdehyde, percentage metmyoglobin content, peroxide, and pH values as indices of protein-lipid oxidation. Results indicated that extracts of the spices exhibited varying degrees of inhibition of oxidation in the frozen beef samples comparable to that of the standard. However, beef samples exposed to 10% X. aethiopica fruit extract produced the lowest degree of oxidation. Activity-guided fractionation of antioxidants in X. aethiopica advocates using polar solvents to extract high levels of antioxidant phenolics from the spice. These findings reveal that the spices investigated are novel sources of natural antioxidants suitable for the cold preservation of beef and viable substitutes for synthetic antioxidants. In this respect, X. aethiopica was the most potent of the three spices studied.