Identification of Potential Peptide Marker(s) for Evaluating Pork Meat Freshness via Mass Spectrometry-Based Peptidomics during Storage under Different Temperatures
Zhenqian Wei, Chen Dai, Anthony Pius Bassey, Changbo Tang, Yu Han, Chong Wang, Guanghong Zhou
Abstract
This study applied peptidomics to investigate potential biomarkers for evaluating pork-meat freshness. The spoilage time points of pork meat stored at -2, 4, 10, and 25 °C were defined by evaluating meat freshness indicators (color, total viable count, pH, and total volatile basic nitrogen). Peptide MVHMASKE was identified as a potential peptide marker via multivariate analysis. Pearson correlation revealed a negative correlation between intensity of MVHMASKE and total viable count/total volatile basic nitrogen. In addition, the correlation between peptide content and the change in pork-meat freshness was verified using real-life samples, and the content of MVHMASKE showed a significant decline during storage under 4 and 25 °C, correspondingly reflecting the change of pork meat from fresh to spoiled. This study provides favorable evidence to evaluate pork-meat freshness by monitoring the change of peptide MVHMASKE in content based on mass spectrometry-based peptidomics.