Tenderization and fragmentation of myofibrillar proteins in camel semitendinosus muscle of high connective tissue content using proteolytic extract from ginger rhizome and papain

Abstract

This study was conducted to develop a method for improving tenderness and overall qualities of tough camel's meat using plant proteolytic enzymes. 3x3 cm uniform-sized from Semitendinosus muscle of old female camel's meat Camelus dromedaries (over 7 years) were marinated with 7% freshly prepared ginger extract, 0.7% papain extract and mixture of papain extract (0.6%) and freshly prepared ginger extract (5%) then kept at 4°C for 3 days. The tenderized as well as the control samples were subjected to analysis in the due time in terms of sensory, bacterial, physicochemical, ultrastractural and electrophoretic examinations. Improvement of sensory scores and significant (P< 0.05) decreased APC, Coliforms, Fecal Coliforms were observed in all enzyme treated samples. Physico-chemical parameters showed significant(P< 0.05) reduction in collagen content, MFD, TBA value, shear force and significant (P< 0.05) increase total soluble protein, collagen solubility %, MFI and SL in all enzyme treated samples compared to control. Electrophoretic pattern of muscle proteins also revealed extensive proteolysis and reduction in number of protein bands in all treated samples. While, histological evaluation showed significant changes in the ultrastructure of connective tissue and muscle fiber. Mixture of both enzymes induced the most obvious effect on camel's meat tenderness followed by papain extract and finally ginger extract.