Spectrophotometric Analysis of Protein Carbonyls

Oxidation of proteins is a major threat to their functionality and to the sensory properties and nutritional value of meat and meat products. Moreover, the intake of protein oxidation products may also involve a potential health risk for consumers. The accurate analysis of food protein oxidation seems to be an issue of scientific and technological relevance. Protein carbonylation is one of the most remarkable modifications in oxidized proteins and protein carbonyls are commonly used as markers of the oxidative damage to meat proteins. Regardless of its documented drawbacks, the dinitrophenylhydrazine (DNPH) method is the most widely used among food scientists for the quantification of protein carbonyls. Therefore, this chapter aims to provide a detailed description of the abovementioned determination which involves a simultaneous quantification of total protein carbonyls and total protein content in a given sample.