Effects of reaction variables on the hydrolysis of lean beef tissue by alcalase

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The effects of the reaction variables, pH, time, temperature, enzyme: meat ratio and meat concentration, on the hydrolysis and solubilisation of lean meat protein by Alcalase have been determined. Experiments were performed with both dilute meat suspensions and undiluted ground meat. Reaction progress curves were similar to those for the enzymic hydrolysis of other proteins, with rapid initial reaction rates followed by a gradual decline in rate. The optimum reaction pH was 8·5. Optimum temperatures were found to be 55°C for the hydrolysis reaction and 60°C for meat solubilisation. Both solubilisation and degree of hydrolysis increased with increasing enzyme concentration. At an enzyme: meat ratio of 80 mg Alcalase 0·6L per gram of dry meat, a solubilisation of 94% and a degree of hydrolysis of 18% were achieved after a 3-h reaction period. As meat concentration was increased, degree of hydrolysis decreased slightly and solubilisation decreased markedly.