Effect of Inca peanut oil on omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, physicochemical, texture and sensory properties in chicken sausage

Sacha inchi (Inca peanut) is a well-known oilseed with high polyunsaturated fatty acid content. Therefore, Inca peanut oil (IPO) may be potentially used as an animal fat substitute in meat products. In the present study, the effects of substitution of chicken fat with IPO (0.5–1.5 g/100 g of ground chicken) on the nutritional, physicochemical, textural, and sensory properties of the resulting sausage was investigated. The findings revealed that saturated fat content, omega-6/omega-3 ratio, and the atherogenic and thrombogenic index values declined, whereas omega-3 fatty acid content increased. In addition, the use of 0.5 g/100 g IPO improved the emulsion stability without affecting the cooking loss and texture properties of sausages. In sausages containing 0.5–1.5 g/100 g IPO, there were no significant alterations in the textural properties or the protein carbonyl and thiol content. However, an increase in TBARS value was observed in the sausage containing 1.5 g/100 g IPO during 21 days of refrigerated storage. Moreover, substituting of chicken fat with IPO (0.5 g/100 g) did not affect the sausage sensory acceptability. These findings demonstrate that IPO use can increase the omega-3 fatty acid while lowering saturated fat content, as well as improve the omega-6/omega-3 ratio in chicken sausages.