Lipid oxidation products, like α, β-unsaturated aldehydes, can react with proteins and influence meat quality. Two such key end products are 4-hydroxy-2-nonenal (4-HNE) and 4-oxo-2-nonenal (4-ONE). These compounds are far more stable than the lipid hydroperoxides from which they form; so, they can diffuse from the site of generation and cause extensive cellular damage and oxidative pathology. Glycolytic enzymes involved in the reduction of metmyoglobin (e.g., lactate dehydrogenase) are highly reactive with 4-HNE, and subsequently become less functional. Other aldehydes, such as 4-ONE, are more reactive than 4-HNE with certain functional groups/moieties including mercapto groups and arginine residues of glycolytic enzymes. Yet, little research has considered the influence of 4-ONE on an in-vitro meat model system. Findings from this study establish that 4-ONE causes loss of lactate dehydrogenase activity compared to 4-HNE at similar effective concentrations. Myoglobin, when incubated with 4-ONE, exhibited a loss in its redox stability at pH 5.8. Both 4-HNE and 4-ONE were found to be potent covalent modifiers of myoglobin, disrupting functional and structural morphology of bovine heart mitochondria. This study reveals that 4-ONE is a novel and highly toxic chemical species, which causes damage to mitochondrial structure and impairment of myoglobin's redox stability.

脂质氧化产物，如α、β-不饱和醛类，可与蛋白质发生反应并影响肉质。两种这样的关键最终产品是 4-羟基-2-壬烯醛 (4-HNE) 和 4-氧代-2-壬烯醛 (4-ONE)。这些化合物比形成它们的脂质氢过氧化物稳定得多；因此，它们可以从生成部位扩散并引起广泛的细胞损伤和氧化病理。参与还原高铁肌红蛋白的糖酵解酶（例如乳酸脱氢酶）与 4-HNE 具有高度反应性，随后功能减弱。其他醛，例如 4-ONE，与某些官能团/部分（包括糖酵解酶的巯基和精氨酸残基）相比，比 4-HNE 更具反应性。然而，很少有研究考虑 4-ONE 对体外肉模型系统。这项研究的结果表明，与类似有效浓度的 4-HNE 相比，4-ONE 会导致乳酸脱氢酶活性降低。当与 4-ONE 一起孵育时，肌红蛋白在 pH 5.8 时表现出其氧化还原稳定性的损失。发现 4-HNE 和 4-ONE 都是肌红蛋白的有效共价修饰剂，可破坏牛心脏线粒体的功能和结构形态。该研究表明，4-ONE 是一种新型的剧毒化学物质，会破坏线粒体结构并损害肌红蛋白的氧化还原稳定性。