The curing of meat batter by the plasma treated juice of red perilla

Nitrite is an essential additive for the manufacture of cured meat products. This study was conducted to investigate the curing effect of the plasma treated juice of red Perilla in meat batter. The nitrite content in the juice of red Perilla was increased by the indirect treatment of atmospheric pressure plasma, and the lyophilized powder of red Perilla juice contained 9,133 ppm of nitrite. A meat batter without a nitrite source was prepared as a negative control (NC), and the meat batters cured with sodium nitrite (PC), celery powder (CP), and the lyophilized powder of red Perilla juice treated with atmospheric pressure plasma (PTP) at 70 ppm level of nitrite were prepared. The PTP showed the highest pH and the lowest cooking loss among the treatments. There were no significant differences in the nitrosyl-hemochrome content in the cooked meat batters of the PC, CP and PTC. However, the PTP had a lower CIE a*-value compared to the PC and CP. The malondialdehyde content in the cooked meat batters was significantly lower in the CP and PTP than in the NC while there was no significant difference between the NC and PC. Based on the results of this study, the plasma treated juice of red Perilla can be used as a new natural nitrite source for cured meat products.