Cooking does not impair the impact of pulsed electric field on the protein digestion of venison (Cervus elaphus) during in vitro gastrointestinal digestion

The present study was conducted to elucidate whether cooking impairs the positive effect of pulsed electric field (PEF) on the digestibility of venison during in vitro gastrointestinal protein digestion. Previous studies have used fresh uncooked meat to demonstrate the effect of PEF on protein digestibility during gastrointestinal digestion neglecting the effect that cooking could induce during meat preparation process. PEF-treated samples (T₁, 10 kV, 90 Hz, 20 µs) were cooked (core temperature of 75 °C) and subjected to in vitro simulated gastrointestinal protein digestion along with non-treated controls. A 3% increase of in vitro protein digestibility was found in cooked PEF-treated venison (P < 0.05). A positive (P < 0.05) impact of PEF processing was observed on overall protein digestion as measured by soluble protein (%) and SDS-PAGE. PEF did not change (P > 0.05) the release of minerals from cooked venison during digestion. Cooking had no negative influence on the mechanism through which PEF operates in improving the protein digestibility of venison.