The impact of the addition of Vitamin C, NaCl, clove oil on the muscle of live blunt-snout bream during transportation

Abstract

Effects of adding different anti-stress substances (Vitamin C (VC), NaCl, clove oil) on the muscle quality of live blunt snout bream during transport in a plastic bag with oxygenated water (SFBOW transport) were investigated, and the mechanisms were further explored jointly with stress index and metabolomics. The determination of shear force, drip loss, and whiteness as well as the observation of cellular structure revealed that all muscle qualities were improved and cellular structure was maintained with the addition of anti-stress substances. The highest shear force was observed in the VC-treated group, the lowest drip loss was observed in the NaCl-treated group, and the whiteness was significantly increased in the mixture treatment group of VC, NaCl, and clove oil. Determination of ATP and its metabolites by Ultra Performance Liquid Chromatography (UPLC) revealed that the VC-treated group had the lowest content of bitter compounds and clove oil had the highest content of fresh compounds. Serum biochemical indexes were determined by using kits. After addition the anti-stress substances, the contents of serum cortisol, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), and malondialdehyde (MDA) (except in the sample with clove oil) reduced, while superoxide dismutase (SOD) did not change. Finally, metabolomics has been used to explore the underlying mechanisms of changes in muscle quality, it was found that pathways including purine metabolism and amino acid metabolism changed significantly regardless of anti-stress substance type. The results indicate that the improvement of muscle quality in blunt snout bream is mainly related to the alteration of metabolic pathways.