The effects of sous-vide cooking on the bio-functionality, nutritional value and health benefits of salmon lipids

Cardiovascular diseases has become the major cause of death globally. Inflammation and platelet aggregation play crucial role in the development and progression of atherosclerosis and CVD. prevent inflammation, atherosclerosis, and endothelial dysfunction and ultimately cardiovascular events. Fish and especially oily fish such as Salmon are vital components of healthy dietary patterns with preventive properties against CVD. Raw salmon contain bioactive polar lipids (PLs) with strong antithrombotic bioactivities. However, salmon is mainly consumed cooked. The aim of the present study was to evaluate for the first time the effects of the emerging mild sous vide cooking processing on the antithrombotic properties, lipid content and sensory characteristics of salmon. Total lipids (TLs) were extracted from brined and un-brined salmon sous vide preparations in several temperatures (52°C, 65°C and 80°C) and further separated into the Neutral Lipids (NLs) and PLs fractions. The antithrombotic properties of salmon PLs were tested in human platelets, while their fatty acid content was determined by LC-MS analysis. Sensory tests were performed using napping followed by check-all-that apply. Sous vide salmon preparations in all conditions did not affect the taste, whereas in 65°C and 80°C slight textural differences were observed. Mild sous vide cooking of brined or un-brined salmon in low temperatures (52-65°C) did not affect the potent inhibitory effect of salmon PLs against human platelet aggregation induced by the inflammatory and thrombotic mediators’ platelet-activating factor (PAF) and thrombin, but also by the well-established platelet agonists adenosine diphosphate (ADP) and collagen. Sous vide preparations of both brined and un-brined salmon in higher temperatures, such as those usually applied for pasteurization (80°C), resulted in reduction of these antithrombotic properties of salmon. This was accompanied by a reduction of the EPA and DHA content of the salmon in these conditions in the un-brined sous vide preparations. Nevertheless, the antithrombotic properties of salmon PLs were preserved in considerable potency even when high temperatures were applied for the sous vide salmon preparations. This outcome if combined with the observed low values of the n-6/n-3 ratio of the PUFA content in the salmon PLs of all sous vide preparations, further suggest a beneficial role for such a mild cooking procedure for preserving the cardio-protective properties of salmon.