Abstract: In order to study the effect of bamboo leaf extract on improving the quality of low-nitrite western-style smoked ham and reduce nitrite content, the color, texture, sensory score, pH, thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) value, total volatile basic nitrogen (TVB-N) content and residual nitrite content of ham samples added with 0.01%, 0.02%, 0.03%, 0.04% and 0.05% bamboo leaf extract were evaluated. Samples added with only 0.009% and 0.015% sodium nitrite were used as controls for comparison. The results showed that with increasing addition of bamboo leaf extract, the redness value a* of ham increased (P < 0.05), and the level of residual nitrite gradually and significantly decreased (P < 0.05). The maximum removal rate of nitrite of 62.47% was obtained upon addition of 0.05% bamboo leaf extract. In addition, the texture of ham added with bamboo leaf extract during storage was improved compared with that of the controls. Adding more than 0.04% bamboo leaf extract caused no significant differences in hardness, elasticity or chewiness during the entire storage period compared with the control groups (P > 0.05). The TBARS value and TVB-N content of the bamboo leaf extract added samples during storage were significantly lower than those of the control groups (P < 0.05). At the end of the 20-day storage period, the TBARS and TVB-N values of the samples added with more than 0.03% bamboo leaf extract were similar to or even lower than those of the second control group. From these results, it was seen that the bamboo leaf extract can effectively inhibit the spoilage of western-style smoked ham, significantly reduce nitrite residue and improve the color and texture of the product.

Key words: bamboo leaf extract; western-style smoked ham; quality; nitrite