Pigmento nitrosohemocromo sintetizado in vitro a partir de fontes orgânicas
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Data
2025-12-11
Autores
Calci, Renato Jorge Cimero
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Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo
Resumo
The replacement of nitrite in cured meat products has been widely discussed due to health-related concerns and the growing consumer demand for more natural alternatives. The production of a novel ingredient resulting from the study of the in vitro formation process of the nitrosohemocrome pigment, based on the conversion of nitrate from a vegetable source into nitrite by nitrate-reducing bacteria, represents a promising strategy to reduce the addition of curing salts in cooked meat products. In this context, the aim of this study was to synthesize nitrosohemocrome pigment in vitro using fermented red beet extract as an organic source of nitrite. An experimental study was conducted to determine the optimal pH and fermentation temperature conditions for nitrate-to-nitrite conversion in lyophilized red beet extract, using a starter culture containing Staphylococcus xylosus (Bactoferm® T-SPX) and a face-centered central composite design with a 2² factorial arrangement and five replicates at the central point, totaling 13 experimental runs. The minimum and maximum levels of pH and temperature were 4.4 and 5.2, and 30 and 42 °C, respectively. Subsequently, five formulations containing fermented beet extract, ascorbic acid, and myoglobin extract obtained from beef chuck (Longissimus dorsi muscle) were evaluated for the in vitro production of nitrosohemocrome pigment. As a control, five formulations containing ascorbic acid, myoglobin extract, and sodium nitrite were prepared, with nitrite concentrations ranging from 30 to 50 mg·L⁻¹. Optimal fermentation conditions were achieved at pH 4.96 and 42 °C for 24 h, resulting in a nitrate conversion rate of 73.9% and a nitrite concentration of 0.345 ± 0.004 mg·L⁻¹. During the pigment production stage, formulation P3 showed the highest nitroso pigment content (1.68 ± 0.07%) and a visual color difference (ΔE* = 8.41 ± 0.24) comparable to that obtained with sodium nitrite, with no residual nitrite detected. The chemical characterization of the nitrosohemocrome pigment was performed using spectroscopic analyses. UV–Vis spectroscopy revealed absorption bands characteristic of nitrosyl-heme complexes; FTIR spectroscopy indicated changes consistent with Fe²⁺–NO coordination; and the reduction of the ferric center and formation of the diamagnetic complex characteristic of nitrosylated pigments were confirmed by ¹H NMR spectroscopy. The results of this study demonstrate that the in vitro production of nitrosohemocrome pigment from organic sources is technologically feasible, particularly due to the absence of detectable residual nitrite in the pigment. This finding highlights the efficiency of the applied technique in the development of a novel ingredient with strong potential for application in food matrices and clean-label cured meat products.
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Nitrito , Clean label , Produto cárneo