Qiaoge Zhang

Inner Mongolia Agricultural University, China

Title: Effect of Selenium on Flavor Substances and Antioxidant Capacity of Goat Meat

---

Biography

Qiaoge Zhang, a female MPhil., candidate at the College of Food Science and Engineering, Inner Mongolia Agricultural University, China. My research direction is meat science and technology. I participated in the International Symposium on Food Science and Human Health and presented an poster at the conference. I have also participated in the "Challenge Cup" College Students' Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition multiple times and won regional awards.

Abstract

Selenium has antioxidant function and can improve meat quality. This research aims to explore the effects of selenium on flavor substances and antioxidant capacity of goat meat. A randomized block design was adopted, and 40 healthy erlangshan white cashmere goat (18 months old, 31 kg) were chosen and arbitrarily divided into two groups: (1) CG (basic diet) and (2) TG (basic diet + 0.5 mg/kg selenium yeast). After 90 days of feeding, the goats were slaughtered and relevant indicators were measured to evaluate the effects of selenium on flavor substances and antioxidant capacity of goat meat. The results showed that appropriate selenium supplementation changed the flavor profile, enhanced the saltness, umami and richness, changed the composition of volatile flavor substances in goat meat, and increased the proportion of hydrocarbon in volatile flavor substances. In addition, the flavor precursor substances in goat meat also changed. The contents of reducing sugars and thiamine in the TG group were both higher than those in the CG group, and the contents of amino acids also changed. The proportion of monounsaturated fatty acids in the TG group increased, but the proportion of polyunsaturated fatty acids decreased. Besides, after supplementing 0.5 mg/kg selenium yeast, the activities of glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), superoxide dismutase (SOD) and total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC) in goat meat increased, the content of malondialdehyde (MDA) decreased, the mRNA level of nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) increased significantly, but the mRNA level of Kelch-like ECH-related protein 1 (Keap1) showed a downward trend. This indicates that selenium supplementation in the diet can improve the flavor of goat meat, which may be due to the increase in antioxidant enzyme activities and the upregulation of antioxidant-related gene expression.