Studies on the Impact of Partial Replacement of Sodium Chloride with Potassium Lactate on Quality Attributes of Buffalo Calf Meat Rolls

Background: Because of low utility, feeding of male buffalo calves is ignored in India leading to high mortality and poor growth in surviving calves. However, the meat of buffalo calves has considerable collagen solubility and serves as a remarkable source for meat products. As the addition of potassium chloride in meat products is restricted owing to its bitter taste and metallic flavor, potassium lactate can serve as a potential source for sodium chloride and it also alleviates the function of sodium chloride in meat processing.Methods: Low salt buffalo calf meat rolls were prepared by partially substituting sodium chloride with potassium lactate at 10%, 20%, 30%, 40% and 50% levels maintaining equivalent ionic strength. Sensory quality, physico-chemical attributes, proximate composition, instrumental texture, firmness, toughness and color were evaluated.Result: Substitution up to 30% level did not cause any significant alteration in sensory quality but further enhancement in potassium lactate level resulted in a significant decrease in flavor, texture, juiciness, tenderness and overall acceptability. The replacement did not cause any significant decline in proximate composition, water holding capacity and emulsion stability of developed meat rolls. An increase in pH and decrease in cooking yield was noticed with an increase in the level of potassium lactate but a significant impact was noticed only at 50% substitution. Texture profile and instrumental color of potassium lactate treated rolls were comparable with control samples. Firmness and toughness decreased with enhancing the level of potassium lactate but the significant impact was recorded only at 50% level.

Potassium Lactate as a Strategy for Sodium Content Reduction without Compromising Salt-Associated Antimicrobial Activity in Salami

Reformulating recipes of ready-to-eat meat products such as salami to reduce salt content can mitigate the negative health impacts of a high salt diet. We evaluated the potential of potassium lactate (KL) as a sodium chloride (NaCl) replacer during salami production. NaCl and KL stress tolerance comparisons showed that four food-derived Listeria innocua isolates were suitable as biologically safe Listeria monocytogenes surrogates. Effects of the high salt (4% NaCl) concentration applied in standard salami recipes and a low salt (2.8% NaCl) plus KL (1.6%) combination on product characteristics and growth of contaminating Listeria and starter culture were compared. Simulated salami-ripening conditions applied in meat simulation broth and beef showed that the low salt plus KL combination retained similar to superior anti-Listeria activity compared to the high salt concentration treatment. Salami challenge tests showed that the low NaCl plus KL combination had comparable anti-Listeria activity as the high NaCl concentration during ripening and storage. No significant differences were detected in starter culture growth profiles and product characteristics between the high NaCl and low NaCl plus KL combination treated salami. In conclusion, KL replacement enabled a 30% NaCl reduction without compromising the product quality and antimicrobial benefits of high NaCl concentration inclusion.

The (in)dependency of blood and sweat sodium, chloride, potassium, ammonia, lactate and glucose concentrations during submaximal exercise

Purpose To reduce the need for invasive and expensive measures of human biomarkers, sweat is becoming increasingly popular in use as an alternative to blood. Therefore, the (in)dependency of blood and sweat composition has to be explored. Methods In an environmental chamber (33 °C, 65% relative humidity; RH), 12 participants completed three subsequent 20-min cycling stages to elicit three different local sweat rates (LSR) while aiming to limit changes in blood composition: at 60% of their maximum heart rate (HRmax), 70% HRmax and 80% HRmax, with 5 min of seated-rest in between. Sweat was collected from the arm and back during each stage and post-exercise. Blood was drawn from a superficial antecubital vein in the middle of each stage. Concentrations of sodium, chloride, potassium, ammonia, lactate and glucose were determined in blood plasma and sweat. Results With increasing exercise intensity, LSR, sweat sodium, chloride and glucose concentrations increased (P ≤ 0.026), while simultaneously limited changes in blood composition were elicited for these components (P ≥ 0.093). Sweat potassium, lactate and ammonia concentrations decreased (P ≤ 0.006), while blood potassium decreased (P = 0.003), and blood ammonia and lactate concentrations increased with higher exercise intensities (P = 0.005; P = 0.007, respectively). The vast majority of correlations between blood and sweat parameters were non-significant (P > 0.05), with few exceptions. Conclusion The data suggest that sweat composition is at least partly independent of blood composition. This has important consequences when targeting sweat as non-invasive alternative for blood measurements.

Non-Destructive Luminescence-Based Screening Tool for Listeria monocytogenes Growth on Ham

Listeria monocytogenes is a food-borne pathogen often associated with ready-to-eat (RTE) food products. Many antimicrobial compounds have been evaluated in RTE meats. However, the search for optimum antimicrobial treatments is ongoing. The present study developed a rapid, non-destructive preliminary screening tool for large-scale evaluation of antimicrobials utilizing a bioluminescent L. monocytogenes with a model meat system. Miniature hams were produced, surface treated with antimicrobials nisin (at 0–100 ppm) and potassium lactate sodium diacetate (at 0–3.5%) and inoculated with bioluminescent L. monocytogenes. A strong correlation (r = 0.91) was found between log scale relative light units (log RLU, ranging from 0.00 to 3.35) read directly from the ham surface and endpoint enumeration on selective agar (log colony forming units (CFU)/g, ranging from 4.7 to 8.3) when the hams were inoculated with 6 log CFU/g, treated with antimicrobials, and L. monocytogenes were allowed to grow over a 12 d refrigerated shelf life at 4 °C. Then, a threshold of 1 log RLU emitted from a ham surface was determined to separate antimicrobial treatments that allowed more than 2 log CFU/g growth of L. monocytogenes (from 6 log CFU/g inoculation to 8 log CFU/g after 12 d). The proposed threshold was utilized in a luminescent screening of antimicrobials with days-to-detect growth monitoring of luminescent L. monocytogenes. Significantly different (p < 0.05) plate counts were found in antimicrobial treated hams that had reached a 1 log RLU increase (8.1–8.5 log(CFU/g)) and the hams that did not reach the proposed light threshold (5.3–7.5 log(CFU/g)). This confirms the potential use of the proposed light threshold as a qualitative tool to screen antimicrobials with less than or greater than a 2 log CFU/g increase. This screening tool can be used to prioritize novel antimicrobials targeting L. monocytogenes, alone or in combination, for future validation.

How Abnormal Sympatho-Activation Can Potentially Develop Heart Failure: A Mini Review

Cardiac sympathetic afferent that signal the sensation of cardiac pain, ostensibly, has more underlying mechanisms than what scientists have ever been led to believe. Cardiac sympathetic afferent reflex, also known as (CSAR), has been shown to be responsive to a variety of stimuli. Many of which scientists observed in increased levels during ischemia hydrogen ion, oxygen radicals, potassium, lactate, ATP, prostaglandins bradykinin, substance p and, finally and most importantly, endogenous substances (neurohormones) such as norepinephrine (NE). In the outset of chronic heart failure (HF), it has been known for a long time, that there are abnormalities in arterial baroreceptor input which depress its sensitivity, and arterial chemoreceptors seem augmented. Therefore, they tend to not only initiate sympathetic outflow but also to sensitise cardiac afferents which are appearing to do the same thing where there are abnormalities in vagus mechano-reflexes as well. Some of these receptors are in the spinal reticulate tract and interestingly these a third pathways give off neurons to the brainstem some in the hypothalamus and trance translate through the thalamus and then ultimately up into the cortex where we have sensation of pain. Here in this essay, we aim to discuss important aspects of cardiac failure in relation to abnormal sympatho-activators through evaluation of different available studies and animal models.