Changes in the Total Lipid, Neutral Lipid, Phospholipid and Fatty Acid Composition of Phospholipid Fractions during Pastırma Processing, a Dry-Cured Meat Product

Pastırma is a dry-cured meat product, produced from whole beef or water buffalo muscles. This study was carried out to investigate the effect of production stages (raw meat, after curing, after 2(nd) drying and pastırma) on the total lipid, neutral lipid, phospholipid and fatty acid composition of phospholipid fraction of pastırma produced from beef M. Longissimus dorsi muscles. The pH and colour (L*, a* and b*) analyses were also performed in raw meat and pastırma. It was found that pastırma production stages had significant effects (p<0.01) on the total amounts of lipid, neutral lipid and phospholipid, and the highest amounts of lipid, neutral lipid and phospholipid were detected in pastırma. In pastırma, neutral lipid ratio was determined as 79.33±2.06% and phospholipid ratio as 20.67±2.06%. Phospholipids was proportionately lower in pastırma than raw meat. Pastırma production stages affected pentadecanoic acid (15:1) (p<0.01), linoleic acid (18:2n-6) (p<0.05), γ-linoleic acid (18:3n-6) (p<0.05), erucic acid (22:1n-9) (p<0.05), docosapentaenoic acid (22:5n-6) (p<0.05), total unsaturated fatty acid (ΣUSFA) (p<0.05) and total saturated fatty acid (ΣSFA) (p<0.05) ratios of phospholipid fraction and also the moisture content (p<0.01). Pastırma process also affected pH and colour (L*, a* and b*) values (p<0.01), and these values were higher in pastırma than raw meat.