| Summary: | Consumers are currently demanding meat products produced using natural additives due to their potential health benefits. Consequently, there has been a progressive interest in the search for more natural antioxidant sources. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of varying levels of <i>M.</i> <i>oleifera</i> root and leaf powder on the oxidative stability and quality of cooked minced pork during eight days of refrigerated storage at 4 °C. The leaves contained significantly higher (<i>p</i> ˂ 0.05) concentrations of total phenols (50.08 ± 0.01 mg GAE/g), while the roots contained the highest amounts of flavonoids (375.15 ± 0.19 mg QE/g) and proanthocyanidins (132.62 ± 0.4 mg CE/g). Both plant parts demonstrated good 2,2-Diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and 2,2 íazino-bis-3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid (ABTS) free radical scavenging activity. Minced cooked pork incorporated with <i>M.</i> <i>oleifera</i> leaf and root powder had significantly lower pH and thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances (TBARS) values compared to the control (<i>p</i> < 0.05). The ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) was also significantly higher in the samples that incorporated antioxidants compared to the control (<i>p</i> < 0.05). Findings from this study suggest that <i>M.</i> <i>oleifera</i> leaves and roots are potent antioxidant sources which can be incorporated in meat to improve quality attributes during storage.
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