Nitrite usage in the curing of meat was a common practice by the early 1800s due to its beneficial effects such as antimicrobial action and prolongation of the shelf life of the meats.  However, some concerns regarding the use of nitrite included the likely generation of carcinogenic nitrosamines by the action of nitrite on amine groups in foods, and in the process known as ''nitrite burn'' where the cured meats develop a green tinge upon prolonged exposure of the meats to excess nitrite.  By exposing hh metMb crystals to excess nitrite under weakly acidic conditions, the initial brown color of the crystals changed to dark green.   Crystallographic determination of the structure of the product revealed a regiospecific nitration at the 2-vinyl position of the heme moiety to give a nitriheme moiety.

Unveiling the protein crystal structure of the green pigment of nitrite-cured meat

245th National Meeting (2013)

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