Improvement of gel properties of mackerel mince by phlorotannin extracts from sporophyll of Undaria pinnatifidai and UVA induced cross-linking.

Abstract

The effects of phlorotannin extracts (PTE) (from sporophyll of Undaria pinnatifida) added at different concentration (0, 1.6, 8, and 40 mg/g protein) with and without ultraviolet A (UVA) irradiation treatment on gel properties of mackerel (Scomberomorus niphonius) mince (MM) were investigated. The results indicated that both the breaking force and water-holding capacity (WHC) of the MM gel increased with addition of PTE, and the highest breaking force and WHC were observed with 40 mg/g PTE under UVA irradiation. Low-field nuclear magnetic resonance revealed that free water significantly decreased in this PTE-MM gel as well. UVA irradiation treatment led to reduction of total sulfhydryls and free amines in the PTE-MM gel, indicating more cross-linking between proteins. Electrophoresis results indicated that myosin heavy chains were aggregated in the UVA-treated PTE-MM gel. The microstructure of the UVA-treated PTE-MM gel showed that protein formed more evenly distributed cross-linked structures and was more compact than the untreated control gel. As a conclusion, PTE addition with UVA irradiation is shown to improve gelling properties of mackerel mince.