Rapid tenderizing of goose breast muscle based on actomyosin dissociation by low-frequency ultrasonication

Abstract

The effect of low-frequency ultrasonication on tenderness, myofibrillar fragmentation and dissociation of actomyosin from goose breast muscle was investigated. Tenderness is the total mechanical strength of the skeletal muscle tissue. The compression and depression induced by ultrasound produces microbubbles in the structure that propagate shock waves of high energy throughout the meat tissue, thereby causing myofibrillar damage. Ultrasound (20 kHz) at 800 W for 20 min had a greater impact on the improvement of meat tenderness than untreated meat (control) during the 0–24 h storage time (4 °C). Significantly higher pH values and myofibrillar fragmentation indices were observed in ultrasonicated meat (6.44 and 22.7%) compared with the control (6.03 and 18.2%) after 24 h of storage. The lowest cooking loss and shear force were obtained in ultrasonicated meat (15.7% and 1970 g) vs. the control (23.9% and 2470 g) at 12 h storage. Furthermore, the ultrasound effect also significantly increased the count of free actin and decreased the ATPase activity of actomyosin during storage. Atomic force microscopy demonstrated that small subunits of actin significantly increased with ultrasonication. This study provides a new perspective of tenderization with the dissociation of actomyosin by ultrasonication combined with proper storage time.