## 3 Results
### Amino Acid Profile  
The results regarding mean free AA content (Table 2) show a consistent increase during the whole trial, but more markedly in the processing stage. Indeed, among the three investigating factors, the effect of time was the most relevant in terms of AA content. In Batch A samples, total AA amounts almost doubled, from 550.26 up to 1058.83 and 985.20 mg/100 g on a dry matter basis (DM) (\"Control\" and \"LSF\", respectively). An increase of the same order of magnitude was also verified in Batch B products whose initial content rose from 591.03 to 1183.98 mg/100 g DM. A closer look at Table 2 highlights alanine the most abundant AA in the raw material, corresponding to nearly 40% of total AA (mean values for both batches), with mean levels ranging from 210.93 up to 318.66 mg/100 g DM (in Batch A and \"LSF\" products from Batch B, respectively). Alanine content remained globally unchanged through processing and storage stages. In turn, arginine, a precursor of putrescine, was the second AA found in greater amounts. Its initial content of about 100 mg/100 g DM promptly increased during processing and later on during product storage. In fact, the highest amounts of arginine occurred after 3 months of storage in smoked products from Batch B (311.54 mg/100 g DM). Within the products stored for a similar period, those from Batch A processed with \"LSF\" resulted in the lowest arginine amounts (225.68 mg/100 g DM). A similar evolution pattern was observed for other AA, including the BA precursors. For example, the levels of lysine, a precursor of cadaverine, increased during the processing by two to five times. Once more, the smoked dry-fermented sausages stood out with the greatest lysine amounts, at 129.26 and 149.75 mg/100 g DM (Batches A and B, respectively), while those processed with LSF, in turn, showed 99.36 and 113.28 mg/100 g DM (Batches B and A, respectively). \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c} \hline \hline \multicolumn{13}{c}{**Batch A**} & \multicolumn{13}{c}{**Batch B**} \\ \hline \multicolumn{13}{c}{**Control**} & \multicolumn{13}{c}{**LSF (Spraying)**} & \multicolumn{13}{c}{**Control**} & \multicolumn{13}{c}{**LSF (Mixing)**} \\ \hline \multicolumn{13}{c}{**RM**} &  
\begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c} \hline \hline \multicolumn{12}{c}{**Non-A. **} & \multicolumn{12}{c}{**Non-A. **} & \multicolumn{12}{c}{**Non-A. **} & \multicolumn{12}{c}{**Non-A. **} & \multicolumn{12}{c}{**Non-A. **} \\ \hline \hline  & **EM** & **FP** & **EM** & **EM** & **EM** & **EM** & **EM** & **FP** & **EM** & **EM** & **EM** & **EM** & **EM** & **EM** & **EM** & **EM** & **EM** & **EM** \\ \hline \hline \multirow{2}{*}{**Appendix-off**} & **EM** & **FP** & **EM** & **EM** & **EM** & **EM** & **EM** & **EM** & **EM** & **EM** & **EM** & **EM** & **EM** & **EM** & **EM** & **EM** \\ \cline{2-12}  & **EM** & **EM** & **EM**  
Despite this, results in Table 2 also demonstrate the reduction in some AA over time. This is the case of glutamine. Such results are of great interest, since these AA are involved in putrescine production. In Batch A, initial glutamine content was reduced from 112.10 mg/100 g DM by nearly half. In turn, in Batch B they decreased to nearly one fifth of their initial levels (from approximately 74 mg/100 g DM to 12.71 and 15.70 mg/100 g DM). Even though a decreasing trend in ornithine content was also observed in stored Batch B samples, an opposite trend was seen in Batch A counterparts. The release of valine, phenylalanine, isoleucine, methionine and leucine followed a similar pattern, accumulating during dry-fermented sausage processing, irrespective of the considered batch (Table 2). Still, it should be pointed out that the highest accumulation of these AA was observed in smoked products. Regarding tryptophan, despite its increment during processing and storage, the final levels in \"Control\" and \"LSF\" products after 3 months of storage were similar, ranging between 14.83 and 17.37 mg/100 g DM.