Biovaluation of Cucurbitaceae fruit byproducts as potential ruminant meat tenderizers : a scoping review and process conceptual framework

Abstract

Current tropical ruminant production systems, which are based on natural pasture, indigenous breeds and marketing of older animals produce less tender meat with limited economic value and low consumer acceptance. While plant cysteine proteases offer natural and potentially safer alternatives to chemical and mechanical meat tenderizers, challenges remain, particularly enzyme stability and over-tenderization. Interestingly, serine proteases derived from byproducts of the Cucurbitaceae family, one of the most widespread, abundant and genetically diverse indigenous fruit plants in the tropics exhibit significant stability and substrate specificity suggesting greater potential for application in meat tenderization but remain underexploited. The current review explored the potential of serine proteases containing extracts derived from tropical Cucurbitaceae fruits byproducts (CFB) as meat tenderizers and customized a process conceptual framework for their biovaluation. Many in vitro studies indicated that CFB-derived serine proteases have wider substrate specificity and greater stability over a broad range of pH, thermal and oxidative environments. Evidence from the few available in producto studies on cucumisin-like serine proteases derived from Cucumis trigonus species in the Cucurbitaceae family suggests that they may possess collagenolytic activity and meat texture enhancing properties comparable to those of cysteine proteases. A transdisciplinary research approach was recommended to further explore purification, efficacy, underlying mechanisms of action, application conditions, safety and cost-effectiveness of novel CFB-based serine proteases as meat tenderizers. A process conceptual framework was customized to guide the biovaluation research of CFBs and promote innovative utilization and entrepreneurship along ruminant meat value chains.

HIGHLIGHTS • Cucurbit serine proteases (CSPs) exhibit higher stability than cysteine proteases. • CSPs seem to display comparable collagenolytic activity to cysteine proteases. • Cucurbit fruit byproducts (CFB) have meat preservative and flavoring properties. • CFB-extracts appear to have potential as meat tenderizers and quality enhancers.