Preparation of selected spice microparticles and their potential application as nitrite scavenging agents in cured Tilapia muscle

The development of nitrite scavenging agents for application in curing products has attracted much attention. In this work, we developed eight types of spice microparticles (myrcia, aniseed, cinnamon, chili, Sichuan pepper, nutmeg, clove, and cumin) using a high-speed disintegrator method and explored their potential application as nitrite scavenging agents. The results demonstrate spice microparticles can efficiently reduce nitrite in sodium nitrite solutions (nitrite scavenging percentages: 36-100%) and high nitrite Tilapia muscle models (nitrite scavenging percentages: 11-42%). Moreover, the nitrite scavenging ability is dependent on spice types and spice microparticle sizes. These results suggest spice microparticles have another potential role (nitrite scavenging) besides flavor adding when they are applied in the curing process of fish and meat. This work can potentially expand the application of spice microparticles in food industry and provide useful information to understand the role of spice microparticles in cured fish, seafood and meats.