Effect of dietary supplementation of vitamin E in pigs to prevent the formation of carcinogenic substances in meat products

The aims of the study are: (i) to evaluate the effect of vitamin E supplementation in the diet of pigs (SG group; 0.5 g Vit. E/kg diet) in order to prevent the formation of carcinogens in salamis after seasoning; (ii) to compare these results with those obtained from a control group (CG group) and from a trial in which vitamin E (0.3 g/kg meat) is added directly during the preparation of the meat products (MG group); (iii) to evaluate the nitrosamine content in meat products before and after enzymatic in vitro digestion to highlight the action of vitamin E under acidic conditions similar to gastric ambient. In our work we find that the oxidation products are formed in salamis after seasoning (0.50, 0.27, and 0.15 nM malondialdehyde/g in CG, MG, and SG group, respectively), while the formation of N-nitrosodimethylamine requires enzymatic digestion in an acidic environment. In addition, vitamin E shows greater efficacy when administered to animals through a diet rather than adding it directly to the meat. Our work indicates the absence of pentosidine in meat products, despite the presence of simple sugars and amino protein groups.