Turmeric and Onion Extracts as Effective Marinating Agents: Reducing PhIP Formation and Improving Quality in Cooked Chicken Breast across Various Cooking Techniques

Abstract

The study aimed to assess the impact of turmeric powder and onion extract on the carcinogenic heterocyclic amine (PhIP) formation and quality of chicken breast prepared via several cooking methods (pan frying, roasting, and grilling) to various degrees of doneness. The results revealed a significant difference in the pH values of different cooking methods, ranging from 5.89 to 6.22. Marinating with turmeric powder and onion extracts significantly reduced the cooking loss of treated samples, ranging from 22.63 to 30.26% and 22.88 to 43.21% for turmeric and onion-treated samples, respectively. The addition of turmeric powder and onion extract had a significant impact on the total antioxidant capacity (TAC) compared to untreated control samples. Color parameters showed that there was only a substantial effect for L* values of medium-done grilled and roasted chicken samples, which were lower than the control and turmeric-treated samples. In addition, turmeric-treated samples showed better acceptance in sensory evaluation compared with onion-treated samples. Furthermore, marination with turmeric and onion extract lead to a significant reduction in PhIP formation. The untreated samples, especially those cooked by pan frying, had a significantly higher content of PhIP when compared with other cooking methods. PhIP could be detected only in well-done grilled and fried samples with lower concentrations of 0.2 and 1.7 ng/g in marinated chicken breast muscle samples with turmeric powder. However, PhIP was not detected in onion-marinated samples. Therefore, turmeric powder and onion extract could be applied to minimize heterocyclic amine formation and enhance the quality of cooked chicken breast.