High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) Detection of Malonaldehyde - thiobarbituric Acid (MA - TBA) Complex in Ground Pork

For monitoring lipid oxidation development in cooked ground pork during refrigeration, malonaldehyde-thiobarbituric acid (MA-TBA) contents were measured using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). As the oxidation proceeded during refrigeration, TBA-reactive substances (TBARS) absorbances increased and the corresponding HPLC peak areas also increased proportionately. The correlation coefficient between the HPLC peak areas and MA-TBA absorbances were 0.9979. The treatment of cetrimide, an ion pairing agent, gave a complete resolution of the MA-TBA complex and the butanol extraction of the complex increased its recovery by 37.8%. Both cetrimide treatment and butanol extraction are essential steps for analyzing MA-TBA complex in ground pork with HPLC. A reliable and specific measurement of MA-TBA in ground pork was successfully performed using HPLC.