Wild fennel seeds from Valle Agricola (Southern Italy): Biochemical and antioxidant traits in minced pork meat

Here, we report the nutritional (crude proteins, total and free amino acids, fatty acids, minerals) and biochemical (protease inhibitors and antioxidant enzymes) characterization of wild fennel seeds from ‘Valle Agricola’ (Caserta, Italy), typical local products used as a food flavouring and preservative. The comparative analysis with commercial fennel seeds revealed the higher antioxidant activity of wild fennel seeds and the considerable ability of the latter in food preservation. In light of this, both wild and commercial fennel seeds were added to minced pork meat to evaluate the effect of flavouring treatment at 0, 1, 3 and 7 days. The analysis revealed that free amino acids, fatty acids and glycosidically bound volatile compounds responsible for meat taste and aroma were mainly released following wild fennel seeds addition. Overall, these data encourage the local consumption of traditional spices, usually added to traditional dry-cured meat and open new opportunities for the niche market.