Green tea catechin prevents oxidative stress-regulated autophagy and apoptosis signaling, and inhibits tenderness in postmortem bovine longissimus thoracis et lumborum muscle

Xijin Zhu; Aixia Li; Nan Sun; Ling Han; Qunli Yu

doi:10.1016/j.fochx.2023.100758

Green tea catechin prevents oxidative stress-regulated autophagy and apoptosis signaling, and inhibits tenderness in postmortem bovine longissimus thoracis et lumborum muscle

Food Chem X. 2023 Jun 22:19:100758. doi: 10.1016/j.fochx.2023.100758. eCollection 2023 Oct 30.

Authors

Xijin Zhu¹, Aixia Li¹, Nan Sun¹, Ling Han¹, Qunli Yu¹

Affiliation

¹ College of Food Science and Engineering, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou, Gansu 730070, PR China.

Abstract

Although green tea catechin has been reported to be an antioxidant and preservative in meat, the extent to which it affects the tenderization of bovine muscle remains largely unknown. This study seeks to evaluate the effect of catechin on the interplay between apoptosis and autophagy, and subsequently, the development of bovine muscle tenderness. The results indicate that catechin significantly alleviated oxidative stress. A concomitant reduction of autophagic markers LC3-II/LC3-I ratio, Beclin-1, and Atg7 levels were caused by catechin. Besides, aforementioned autophagy inhibition was further augmented by PI3K/Akt/mTOR activation. Additionally, catechin protected against mitochondrial dysfunction and inhibited mitochondria-dependent caspase apoptosis pathway. Furthermore, there was a reciprocal inhibition between autophagy and apoptosis. Ultimately, tenderness at 24 and 120 h, an increase in the gap between muscle fiber bundles, and disintegration of myofibrillar architectures were all inhibited by catechin. Therefore, despite alleviating oxidative stress, catechin may hamper tenderization pattern of postmortem bovine muscle.

Keywords: Apoptosis; Autophagy; Bovine; Green tea catechin; Oxidative stress; Tenderization.