| Abstract: | The blue sprat is a small fish belonging to the family Clupeidae. Deterioration of its freshness after catching is so rapid that the fish is cooked in simple ways and consumed locally. The prooxidant activity of the skin, dark meat and ordinary meat was much higher than that of other fishes such jack mackerel. Suppression of lipid peroxidation in blue sprat was attempted using hot‐water extracts of five types of Taiwanese tea with different degrees of fermentation, ie Longjing‐type green tea, Shy Jih Chuen oolong tea, Tungting oolong tea, Pouchong tea and black tea. All the tea extracts showed antioxidant activity on oxidation of linoleic acid induced by the extracts of blue sprat's tissues. The antioxidant activity of each tea extract showed a positive correlation with the contents of total catechins, especially with that of epigallocatechin gallate, but a poor correlation with the contents of total polyphenols. The Tungting oolong tea together with Chinese green tea effectively suppressed the prooxidant activities of the dark meat and skin of blue sprat. Impregnation of blue sprat in the extract of the Tungting oolong tea retarded the lipid oxidation in fish meat assessed by peroxide value and carbonyl value during refrigeration. Copyright © 2005 Society of Chemical Industry |
