Effect of dietary supplementation of vitamin E in pigs to prevent the formation of carcinogenic substances in meat products.

The aims of this study were threefold: to evaluate the effect of vitamin E supplementation in the diet of pigs (SG group; 0.5 g Vitamin E/kg diet) in order to prevent the formation of carcinogens in salamis after seasoning; to compare these results with those obtained from a control group (CG group) and from a trial in which vitamin E (0.3 g/kg meat) is added directly during the preparation of the meat products (MG group); and to evaluate the nitrosamine content in meat products before and after enzymatic in vitro digestion to highlight the action of vitamin E under acidic conditions similar to gastric ambient. It was found that the oxidation products are formed in salamis after seasoning (0.50, 0.27, and 0.15 nM malondialdehyde/g in CG, MG, and SG group, respectively), while the formation of N-nitrosodimethylamine requires enzymatic digestion in an acidic environment. In addition, vitamin E shows greater efficacy when administered to animals through a diet rather than adding it directly to the meat. This work has also demonstrated the absence of pentosidine in meat products, despite the presence of simple sugars and amino protein groups.