Chemical and Cellular Antioxidant Activities of Chicken Breast Muscle Subjected to Various Thermal Treatments Followed by Simulated Gastrointestinal Digestion

The effect of thermal treatments on chemical and cellular antioxidant activities of chicken breasts subjected to in vitro gastrointestinal digestion was investigated. Breast of Korat crossbred chicken (KC) and commercial broiler (BR) were cooked under various conditions, namely heating at 70 °C for 30 min (H‐0.5) and 24 h (H‐24), autoclaving (AC) at 121°C for 15 min (AC‐15) and 60 min (AC‐60). Protein digestibility decreased upon the extreme thermal treatment of AC‐60. The H‐0.5 improved metal chelating activity of KC digesta, FRAP, and anti‐liposome oxidation of BR digesta. Digesta of BR/H‐0.5 and KC/AC‐15 at 50 μg/mL exhibited the highest cytoprotective effect against tert‐butyl hydroperoxide (TBHP)‐induced oxidative damage of HepG2 cells. In addition, the KC/AC‐15 digesta at a concentration as low as 12.5 μg/mL inhibited intracellular TBHP‐induced reactive oxyfen species (ROS) production (P < 0.05). Thus, the digesta of KC breasts subjected to AC‐15 provides not only nutritional value but also antioxidant activity at the cellular level.