Myoglobin-Induced Lipid Oxidation. A Review

An overview of myoglobin-initiated lipid oxidation in simple model systems, muscle, and muscle-based foods is presented. The potential role of myoglobin spin and redox states in initiating lipid oxidation is reviewed. Proposed mechanisms for myoglobin-initiated lipid oxidation in muscle tissue (pH 7.4) and meat (pH 5.5) are evaluated with the purpose of putting forward general mechanisms explaining present observations regarding the catalytic events. Keywords: Myoglobin; heme; lipid oxidation; peroxidation; muscle-based foods