Influence of dietary vitamin E on the oxidative stability and quality of pig meat.

Oxidation of lipids is a major cause of deterioration in the quality of muscle foods and can directly affect many quality characteristics such as flavor, color, texture, nutritive value, and safety of the food. Lipid oxidation in muscle systems is initiated at the membrane level in the intracellular phospholipid fractions. In the processing of muscle foods, one of the most important questions concerns the methods used to delay the initiation of oxidation and loss of quality. Vitamin E is a major lipid-soluble antioxidant, and one of its primary functions is to maintain and protect biological membranes against lipid peroxidation. Dietary vitamin E supplementation above requirement levels is effective in reducing lipid oxidation. This review focuses on the antioxidant function of vitamin E and how supplementation of the diet of pigs with vitamin E influences the rate of lipid peroxidation, color, water-holding capacity, and cholesterol oxidation in pig meat.