Effects of antioxidants on the texture and protein quality of ready-to-eat abalone muscles during storage

• Published in: Journal of food composition and analysis 2022-05, Vol.108, p.104456, Article 104456
• Main Authors: Yu, Man-Man, Fan, Ying-Chen, Xu, Shi-Jing, Liu, Yu-Xin, Wu, Zi-Xuan, Zhou, Da-Yong, Zhu, Bei-Wei
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Abalone muscle; Antioxidants; Nutrient loss; Protein degradation; Protein oxidation; Texture deterioration
• ISSN: 0889-1575; 1096-0481
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jfca.2022.104456

[Display omitted] •Texture deterioration occurred in ready-to-eat abalone muscles during storage.•Protein oxidation and degradation occurred in ready-to-eat abalone muscles.•Collagen connective proteins were more prone to oxidation and degradation.•Bloodletting retarded protein oxidation and degradation in abalone muscles.•Antioxidants inhibited protein oxidation, improving texture and protein quality. The purpose of this study is to investigate the mechanism of texture deterioration and nutrient loss in ready-to-eat (RTE) abalone muscles during storage and the effects of antioxidants (lactic acid, citric acid and 4-hexylresorcinol) and pro-oxidants (copper ions bound to hemocyanin in abalone blood). Results suggested that storage caused protein oxidation in RTE abalone muscles during storage, reflected by increases in carbonyl group and disulfide bond contents, as well as decreases in free sulfhydryl group and amino acid contents, which also contributed to nutrient loss. Meanwhile, oxidation led to the degradation of proteins, especially collagen connective proteins, which caused decline in water hold capacity of RTE abalone muscles, ultimately resulting in decreases in shear force and hardness. In addition, adding antioxidants and eliminating pro-oxidants (copper ions) through bloodletting effectively retarded protein oxidation and degradation during storage, which significantly prevented texture deterioration and nutrient loss.