Inhibitory action of antimicrobial peptides against the formation of carcinogenic and mutagenic heterocyclic amines in meat.

Thermal processing of meat leads to the development of Maillard's reaction intermediates, and carcinogenic toxicants. For the first time, the effectiveness of three (HX-12A, HX-12B and HX-12C) antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) against the formation of heterocyclic amines (HAs) in chemical and meat model systems. The results showed that AMPs especially 12A and 12C have strong metal chelation potential (48 and 40% at 1 mg/ml) and antioxidant activity (35 and 25% at 1 mg/ml), respectively, which were endorsed by their secondary structure (FTIR analysis) in terms of high β-sheets (1628 cm and 1672 cm) in those AMPs. UPLC-MS analysis revealed that 12A and 12C were the most capable AMPs in MeIQx and PhIP-producing chemical models, respectively, whereas 12B promoted the HAs formation even higher than control. In particular, 12C AMP significantly (P < 0.05) decreased the most abundant carcinogenic HAs (PhIP) up to 90% at 9 mg/100 g of fresh meat, whereas 12A inhibited up to 80% of mutagenic HAs at same level compared to control and 12B. Low Field Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (LF-NMR) test showed that inhibitory effect of 12A and 12C was mediated by means of retaining water (lower T and T relaxation time) inside the macromolecules. This favorable effect was also evidenced by significantly enhanced tryptophan fluorescent intensity. Finally, based on correlation and principle component analysis, the mechanism of action has been proposed. These outcomes recommend that 12A and 12C are potential AMPs for the attenuation of HAs in thermally processed meat-based products.