Relationship between quality changes of post-rigor tan mutton and myofibrillar protein following high-pressure treatment

Abstract

ABSTRACT Microbial load, protein oxidation, myofibrillar protein changes and quality characteristics (meat color and water retentiveness including centrifugal loss (CeL) and water-holding capacity (WHC)) of post-rigor tan mutton exposed to different high-pressure treatments (200 MPa/500 MPa for 15 min at 18°C) during chilled storage for 7 days (4°C) were evaluated. High-pressure applications of 200 MPa and 500 MPa significantly reduced the number of Total Viable Counts (TVC) during storage (P < 0.05), but excessive pressure treatment (500 MPa) also resulted in a significant increase in protein oxidation and decrease in water retentiveness (P < 0.05), accompanied by deterioration of meat color. 200 MPa treatment also caused adverse effects on the quality of processed meat at the later stage of storage (3–7 d) similar to 500 MPa high pressure, but the initial application of 200 MPa pressure resulted in no significant differences in meat color and retentiveness from the untreated (P > 0.05) and better texture characteristics than untreated samples. ANOVA with Partial Least Squares Regression (APLSR) confirmed the relationshipS between these variations in quality characteristics induced by high-pressure treatments and protein oxidation and key myofibrillar skeleton proteins.