Whole Chia Flour as Yield Enhancer, Potential Antioxidant and Input of n-3 Fatty Acid in a Meat Product

Abstract

In this paper, the effect of the addition of whole chia flour and water at cooked fish burgers on yield, water and fat retention, n-3 fatty acids content and oxidative stability were studied. The results showed that 94% of yield, 92% of water retention and 97% of fat retention were achieved with the addition of 5.92 g of whole chia flour and 15 g of water per 100 g of burger. The n-3 fatty content increased from 704.57 ± 21.66 mg to 1551.71 ± 47.71 mg/100g of cooked burger when the chia flour was added, enhancing nutritional quality indices of lipid. A good oxidative stability, with minimum formation of conjugated dienes, hydroperoxides and thiobarbituric acid reactive substances during 30 days frozen storage was obtained too, probably due to the presence of polyphenolic compounds with antiradical activity and reducing power in the fibrous fraction of the flour chia. The results from the present study highlight remarkable technological applications of whole chia flour as food ingredient in the design of healthier fish meat commodities.