Effect of cooking methods on cholesterol, mineral composition and formation of total heterocyclic aromatic amines in Muscovy drake meat

Background: Cholesterol, minerals and heterocyclic aromatic amines (HAAs) are of great importance in determining meat quality to humans and therefore of concern to meat consumers because of health reasons. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of various cooking methods (grilling, deep frying, pan frying and roasting) on the formation of total HAAs, cholesterol and mineral retention in Muscovy drake breast meat. Total HAAs and cholesterol were determined by high-performance liquid chromatography, while minerals were measured by atomic absorption spectroscopy.

Results: Muscovy drake breast meat cooked by deep frying had the highest content of total HAAs (31.83 ng g(-1)), followed by roasted (30.12 ng g(-1)), pan-fried (29.23 ng g(-1)) and grilled (27.34 ng g(-1)) fillets. The cholesterol content was highest in deep-fried fillets (59.09 mg g(-1)), followed by roasted fillets (58.61 mg g(-1)), while grilling resulted in the lowest cholesterol content (57.00 mg g(-1)). The mineral content was highest in deep-fried samples and lowest in roasted fillets. Magnesium retention was affected by the cooking method and was higher in deep-fried samples (110.57%) than in grilled (97.97%), pan-fried (88.99%) and roasted (78.46%) fillets. Generally, the total HAA, cholesterol and mineral content in cooked Muscovy drake breast meat varied with the cooking method.

Conclusion: Moderate consumption of deep-fried Muscovy drake meat should be encouraged, as deep frying increased its cholesterol, total HAA and mineral content compared with the other cooking methods investigated.