Ahamad Mohammad Nasir Uddin, Ali Md Eaqub, Hossain M A Motalib, Asing Asing, Sultana Sharmin, Jahurul M H A
a Nanotechnology and Catalysis Research Center, Institute of Graduate Studies , University of Malaya , Kuala Lumpur , Malaysia.
b Institute of Halal Research University of Malaya , University of Malaya , Kuala Lumpur , Malaysia.
Food Addit Contam Part A Chem Anal Control Expo Risk Assess. 2017 Dec;34(12):2043-2057. doi: 10.1080/19440049.2017.1359752. Epub 2017 Oct 12.
Rabbit meat is receiving increasing attention because it contains a high level of proteins with relatively little fat. On the other hand, squirrel meat is served in upper-class meals in certain countries, so is sold at higher prices. The other side of the coin is rat meat, which has family ties with rabbit and squirrel but poses substantial threats to public health because it is a potential carrier of several zoonotic organisms. Recently, rat meat was mislabelled and sold as lamb after chemical modification. Thus, the chances of rabbit and squirrel meat substitution by rat meat cannot be ruled out. For the first time, a multiplex PCR assay was developed in Malaysia for the discriminatory identification of rat, rabbit and squirrel in the food chain. Rabbit (123 bp), rat (108 bp) and squirrel (243 bp) targets were amplified from ATP6 and cytb genes, along with a eukaryotic internal control (141bp). The products were sequenced and cross-tested against 22 species. A total of 81 reference samples and 72 meatball specimens were screened to validate the assay. Analyte stability was evaluated through boiling, autoclaving and micro-oven cooking. The tested lower limits of detection were 0.01 ng DNA for pure meat and 0.1% for meatballs.
兔肉因其富含高蛋白且脂肪含量相对较低而受到越来越多的关注。另一方面，松鼠肉在某些国家的高档菜肴中出现，因此售价较高。而鼠肉则不然，它与兔子和松鼠有亲缘关系，但由于是多种人畜共患病原体的潜在携带者，对公众健康构成重大威胁。最近，鼠肉经过化学改性后被误标为羊肉出售。因此，不能排除用鼠肉替代兔肉和松鼠肉的可能性。马来西亚首次开发了一种多重PCR检测方法，用于鉴别食物链中的鼠、兔和松鼠。从ATP6和细胞色素b基因中扩增出兔（123bp）、鼠（108bp）和松鼠（243bp）的靶标，同时还有一个真核内对照（141bp）。对产物进行测序，并与22个物种进行交叉测试。共筛选了81个参考样本和72个肉丸样本以验证该检测方法。通过煮沸、高压灭菌和微波炉烹饪来评估分析物的稳定性。纯肉的检测下限为0.01 ng DNA，肉丸的检测下限为0.1%。
