Extracting Beta-Glucan from Pumpkin Seeds and Studying its Effect on Some Meat Quality Characteristics

Abstract

The current study aimed to use beta-glucan extracted from pumpkin seeds and add it at 1 and 2% concentrations to preserve the minced beef discs in addition to studying its qualitative characteristics during different preservation periods (0, 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10) days at a temperature of 4 °C.The study concluded that adding beta-glucan extracted from pumpkin seeds by 1 and 2% led to a significant decrease in the peroxide values of meat samples to which beta-glucan was added. In comparison to the control treatment, which had a meat quantity of 6.95 mEq/kg on the sixth day of preservation, it was removed from the analysis due to microbial contamination. The meat samples exhibited mEq/kg values of 2.76 and 2.69, respectively. The samples treated with beta-glucan maintained levels within the acceptable range throughout the ten-day preservation period. The samples treated with beta-glucan also exhibited a notable reduction in the proportion of free fatty acids.. The research results showed a substantial reduction in cholesterol and the volume of the liberated liquid in the samples treated with beta-glucan compared with the control sample.