Relationship of lipid-protein oxidation with meat quality and volatile organic compounds in Korean native chickens and broilers during frozen storage

Yousung Jung; Dowon Jeong; Soomin Oh; Dongwook Kim; Hyo-Jun Choo; Jun-Heon Lee; Aera Jang

doi:10.1016/j.psj.2025.105523

Relationship of lipid-protein oxidation with meat quality and volatile organic compounds in Korean native chickens and broilers during frozen storage

Poult Sci. 2025 Jul 3;104(10):105523. doi: 10.1016/j.psj.2025.105523. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Yousung Jung¹, Dowon Jeong¹, Soomin Oh¹, Dongwook Kim¹, Hyo-Jun Choo², Jun-Heon Lee³, Aera Jang⁴

Affiliations

¹ Department of Applied Animal Science, College of Animal Life Sciences, Kangwon National University, Chuncheon, 24341, South Korea.
² Poultry Research Institute, National Institute of Animal Science, Pyeongchang, 25342, South Korea.
³ Division of Animal and Dairy Science, Chungnam National University, Daejeon, 34134, South Korea.
⁴ Department of Applied Animal Science, College of Animal Life Sciences, Kangwon National University, Chuncheon, 24341, South Korea. Electronic address: ajang@kangwon.ac.kr.

PMID: 40633315
DOI: 10.1016/j.psj.2025.105523

Abstract

This study investigated the relationship of lipid-protein oxidation with meat quality and volatile organic compounds in breast meat of Korean Woorimatdag No. 2 chicken (WRMD2) and commercial broiler (CB) under vacuum storage at -20 °C for 270 days. Frozen storage significantly affects lipid-protein oxidation, quality, and volatile profiles of chicken meat. WRMD2 exhibited a significantly higher degree of lipid oxidation than CB, as indicated by high levels of peroxide value, 2-thiobarbituric acid reactive substances, and p-anisidine value. However, WRMD2 was less susceptible to protein oxidation than CB, as demonstrated by the results of volatile basic nitrogen, carbonyl, and sulfhydryl assays. Lipid-protein oxidation was highly correlated with several meat quality and volatility indicators, including drip loss, surface color, polyunsaturated fatty acids, and specific aldehydes and alcohols. Moreover, a total of 33 VOCs, including benzeneacetaldehyde, benzaldehyde, nonanal, and decanoic acid, contributed to the separation between CB and WRMD2 at each storage time point. Our findings provide preliminary insights into the biochemical changes that occur during frozen storage, potentially contributing to the regulation and optimization of the quality of native chicken meat products globally.

Keywords: Fatty acid composition; Genetic diversity; Myoglobin oxidation; Peroxide value; Protein carbonyl.