Measuring oxidative stability of beef muscles obtained from animals supplemented with vitamin E using conventional and derivative spectrophotometry

The measurement of oxidative stability of beef muscle, from animals fed either control or supplemented vitamin E, during refrigerated storage using both conventional and derivative spectrophotometry was examined. Lipid oxidation measured over a 7-d period using both methods was lower in all muscles from animals fed the higher level of supplementation. Area under the curve of MDA-TBA values obtained by derivative analysis were 68 to 80% lower in all muscles than the corresponding TBARS values obtained using conventional spectrophotometry. Overall, both methods resulted in similar patterns of oxidation. It was concluded that both methods were equally as effective in measuring the extent of lipid oxidation in beef muscle during refrigerated display.