Development of a functional horse-meat roulade using plant-derived components

The aim of the study was to provide a scientific justification for the formulation and processing technology of a horsemeat roulade using plant-based functional ingredients – calamus rhizome, a humic–fulvic acid complex and pumpkin seed cake – and to evaluate their effects on the nutritional value, technological properties and sensory characteristics of the product. Within the framework of the study, control and experimental samples of horse-meat roulade were developed, for which the chemical composition, energy value, pH, TBA index, cooking loss, total viable count (TVC), amino acid profile and sensory attributes were determined. In the experimental roulade, the protein content decreased from 28,2% to 19,12%, and the fat content from 14,8% to 8,7%, while carbohydrates (5,6%) were detected, which reduced the energy value of the meat product from 246,0 to 177,2 kcal/100 g. A decrease in pH from 6,1 to 5,8 and in the TBA value from 0,45 to 0,31 mg MDA/kg was observed, and cooking loss was reduced from 32,8% to 17,01%. The TVC in the experimental roulade sample amounted to 7,2×102 CFU/g versus 8,1×102 CFU/g in the control sample, which was below the limit specified by the regulatory document (1×103 CFU/g). The amino acid score for key essential amino acids exceeded 130%, and the biological value of the meat product reached 139,86%. At the same time, the sensory scores for appearance, colour and taste of the experimental roulade were higher than those of the control sample.