Effects of fish sarcoplasmic proteins on the properties of myofibrillar protein gels mediated by microbial transglutaminase

Thermal aggregation behavior of egg white protein and blue round scad (Decapterus maruadsi) myofibrillar protein

In the present study, egg white protein (EWP) and myofibrillar protein (MP) were mixed in different ratios (0/100, 10/90, 20/80, 30/70, 40/60, 50/50, 100/0 for EWP/MP) and subjected to unheated, preheated (40°C/30 min), two-step heated (40°C/30 min, 90°C/20 min), and one-step heated (90°C/20 min) treatments to study the thermal aggregation of the two proteins. Their aggregation behavior was characterized by turbidity, active sulfhydryl, degree of protein cross-linking, protein characteristic spectra, and microscopic morphology. The results indicated that for the mixed protein system composed of EWP and MP, the mixed protein aggregation volume was larger and regular at an EWP/MP of 30/70, when the degree of cross-linking was best. When the ratio of EWP/MP was 50/50, the aggregate-protein interaction was dominant, and the excess EWP acted as a barrier to cross-linking and wrapped around the surface of the aggregates to form larger aggregates. Comparing the two-step heated and one-step heated conditions, the former is superior. PRACTICAL APPLICATION: The combination of egg white protein and myofibrillar protein can provide a theoretical reference for the protein content in surimi products, and moderate addition has an enhancing effect on surimi protein cross-linking and promotes gel formation. Excessive addition will form aggregates outside the egg white protein wrapping phenomenon, and the quality of surimi gel products will be affected.

Properties of transglutaminase-induced myofibrillar/wheat gluten gels

Gelation properties of myofibrillar protein (MP)/wheat gluten (WG) induced by glutamine transaminase (TGase) were studied. Results showed that the inclusion of transglutaminase increased the gel strength, water-holding capacity (WHC), and nonfreezable water (Wnf) of MP/WG mixture. Circular dichroism (CD) analysis showed that the β-sheet and random coil content of the MP/WG treated with TGase addition increased by 12.1% and 3.7%, while the α-helix and β-turn content decreased by 14.2% and 1.8%. Rheological measurements showed that TGase induced higher energy storage modulus value during the MP/WG gel heating-cooling cycle. the hydrogen bond and hydrophobic interaction content of the MP/WG gels increased by 80 and 120 ug/L, and the disulfide bond decreased by 200 ug/L, with TGase addition was increased from 0 to 120 U/g protein. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) showed that MP/WG gel with TGase had uniform and dense network structure. PRACTICAL APPLICATION: The properties of myofibrillar/wheat gluten gel induced by TGase crosslinking was studied. The gel structure and water holding capacity of MP/WG were improved by the cross-linking of TGase. The study of the gel properties of MP/WG induced by TGase crosslinking also can provide a theoretical basis for analyzing the effect of TGase on the application of gluten protein in complex meat emulsion system.

Controlling Ingredients for Healthier Meat Products: Clean Label

Many ingredients are incorporated in the manufacture of meat products. Some of them are necessary to improve flavor, taste, and texture of meat products. However, excessive addition of processing ingredients such as fat, sodium, and other curing agents might cause health problems such as obesity, diabetes, and chronic diseases. Therefore, it is recommended that the minimum amount necessary of these ingredients be incorporated in the manufacture of meat products. This review summarizes minimum levels of key ingredients for the manufacture of meat products with maximum palatability. Functional ingredients that should be added in the process of meat products are also discussed. Thus, the reduction of undesirable ingredients and the addition of functional ingredients could be achieved to develop healthier meat products for consumers.

Controlled Release of Metformin Hydrochloride from Core-Shell Nanofibers with Fish Sarcoplasmic Protein

Background and Objectives: A coaxial electrospinning technique was used to produce core/shell nanofibers of a polylactic acid (PLA) as a shell and a polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) containing metformin hydrochloride (MH) as a core. Materials and Methods: Fish sarcoplasmic protein (FSP) was extracted from fresh bonito and incorporated into nanofiber at various concentrations to investigate the influence on properties of the coaxial nanofibers. The morphology, chemical structure and thermal properties of the nanofibers were studied. Results: The results show that uniform and bead-free structured nanofibers with diameters ranging from 621 nm to 681 nm were obtained. A differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) analysis shows that FSP had a reducing effect on the crystallinity of the nanofibers. Furthermore, the drug release profile of electrospun fibers was analyzed using the spectrophotometric method. Conclusions: The nanofibers showed prolonged and sustained release and the first order kinetic seems to be more suitable to describe the release. MTT assay suggests that the produced drug and protein loaded coaxial nanofibers are non-toxic and enhance cell attachment. Thus, these results demonstrate that the produced nanofibers had the potential to be used for diabetic wound healing applications.

Fish sarcoplasmic proteins as a high value marine material for wound dressing applications

Fish sarcoplasmic proteins (FSP) constitute around 25-30% of the total fish muscle protein. As the FSP are water soluble, FSP were isolated from fresh cod (Gadus morhua) by centrifugation. By SDS-PAGE, it was possible to determine the composition of FSP extracts (FSP-E). The FSP-E undergo denaturation at 44.12 ± 2.34° C, as characterized by differential scanning calorimetry thermograms (DSC). The secondary structure of FSP-E is mainly composed by α-helix structure, as determined by circular dichroism. The cytocompatibility of FSP-E, at concentrations ranging from 5 to 20 mg/mL, was investigated. Concentrations lower than 10 mg/mL have no cytotoxicity cultures of fibroblasts over 72 h. Further on, FSP membranes (FSP-M) were produced by spin coating to evaluate its properties. FSP-M shown having uniform surface as analyzed by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). The relative amount of α-helix structures is higher when compared with the FSP-E. The FSP-M have higher temperature stability than the FSP-E, since they presented a denaturation temperature of 58.88 ± 3.36° C, according to the DSC analysis. FSP-M shown distinctive mechanical properties, with a stiffness of 16.57 ± 3.95 MPa and a yield strength of 23.85 ± 5.97 MPa. Human lung fibroblasts cell lines (MRC-5) were cultured in direct contact with FSP-M, demonstrating its cytocompatibility for 48 h. Based on these results, FSP can be considered a potential biomaterial recovered from nature, for wound dressing applications.

Optimal synthesis and design of the number of cycles in the leaching process for surimi production

Water consumption required during the leaching stage in the surimi manufacturing process strongly depends on the design and the number and size of stages connected in series for the soluble protein extraction target, and it is considered as the main contributor to the operating costs. Therefore, the optimal synthesis and design of the leaching stage is essential to minimize the total annual cost. In this study, a mathematical optimization model for the optimal design of the leaching operation is presented. Precisely, a detailed Mixed Integer Nonlinear Programming (MINLP) model including operating and geometric constraints was developed based on our previous optimization model (NLP model). Aspects about quality, water consumption and main operating parameters were considered. The minimization of total annual costs, which considered a trade-off between investment and operating costs, led to an optimal solution with lesser number of stages (2 instead of 3 stages) and higher volumes of the leaching tanks comparing with previous results. An analysis was performed in order to investigate how the optimal solution was influenced by the variations of the unitary cost of fresh water, waste treatment and capital investment.

Gels prepared from egg yolk and its fractions for tissue engineering

New biomaterials prepared from egg yolk and its main fractions (plasma and granules) have been developed for use in tissue engineering. Protein gels obtained via transglutaminase cross-linking were characterized by rheometry, texturometry and scanning electron microscopy. All the gels exhibited suitable physical and mechanical characteristics for use as potential biomaterials in skin regeneration. Specifically, results showed that these materials presented a compact, uniform structure, with granular gel being found to be the most resistant as well as the most elastic material. Accordingly, these gels were subsequently evaluated as scaffolds for murine fibroblast growth. The best results were obtained with granule gels. Not only adhesion and cell growth were detected when using these gels, but also continuous coatings of cells growing on their surface. These findings can be attributed to the higher protein content of this fraction and to the particular structure of its proteins. Thus, granules have proved to be an interesting potential raw material for scaffold development. © 2016 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Biotechnol. Prog., 32:1577-1583, 2016.

Transglutaminase-induced gelation properties of soy protein isolate and wheat gluten mixtures with high intensity ultrasonic pretreatment

Soy protein isolate (SPI) and wheat gluten (WG) are widely used in commercial food applications in Asia for their nutritional value and functional properties. However, individually each exhibits poor gelation. In this study, we examined the microbial transglutaminase (MTGase)-induced gelation properties of SPI and WG mixtures with high intensity ultrasonic pretreatment. Ultrasonic treatment reduced the particle size of SPI/WG molecules, which led to improvements in surface hydrophobicity (Ho) and free sulfhydryl (SH) group content. However, MTGase crosslinking facilitated the formation of disulfide bonds, markedly decreasing the content of free SH groups. Ultrasonic treatment improved the gel strength, water holding capacity, and storage modulus and resulted in denser and more homogeneous networks of MTGase-induced SPI/WG gels. In addition, ultrasonic treatment changed the secondary structure of the gel samples as determined by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopic analysis, with a reduction in α-helices and β-turns and an increase in β-sheets and random coils. Thus, ultrasound is useful in facilitating the gelation properties of MTGase-induced SPI/WG gels and might expand their utilization in the food protein gelation industry.

Effect of Fish Sarcoplasmic Protein on Quality Attributes of No-fat Chicken Sausages Mediated by Microbial Transglutaminase

Fish sarcoplasmic protein (SP) obtaining from lyophilization was evaluated its effect on the qualities of the no-fat chicken sausages in the presence of microbial transglutaminase (MTG) as compared to sodium tripolyphosphate (STPP). The cooking yields of all sausage samples were not different. Expressible moisture (EM) of sausage samples was reduced by adding fish SP, while the lowest EM values were observed in sausage samples containing STPP. The pH values of sausage samples were increased with the addition of fish SP and STPP. Proximate analysis revealed that the moisture, fat, and protein contents of all samples were not different (p>0.05). Textural properties (TP), measured by texture profile analysis, showed that hardness of no-fat sausages increased upon adding fish SP. However, the highest TP values were found in sausage samples with STPP. The redness values were reduced in sausage samples with STPP, while other color values were not affected by STPP. Sensory evaluation revealed that sausages with fish SP were accepted at the higher level than that of control. However, sausage samples with STPP showed highest TP and acceptability. Thus, partial substitution of STPP by SP would be possible to reduce phosphate level in the chicken sausages.

Evaluation of Acid-treated Fish Sarcoplasmic Proteins on Physicochemical and Rheological Characteristics of Pork Myofibrillar Protein Gel Mediated by Microbial Transglutaminase

Fish sarcoplasmic protein (SP) is currently dumped as waste from surimi industry and its recovery by practical method for being the non-meat ingredient in meat industry would be a strategy to utilize effectively the fish resource. This study was aimed to apply pH treatment for fish SP recovery and evaluated its effect on pork myofibrillar protein (MP) gel. The pH values of fish SP were changed to 3 and 12, and neutralized to pH 7 before lyophilizing the precipitated protein after centrifugation. Acid-treated fish SP (AFSP) showed about 4-fold higher recovery yield than that of alkaline-treated SP and water absorption capacity was also about 1.2-fold greater. Because of the high recovery yield and water absorption capacity, AFSP was selected to incorporate into MP with/without microbial transglutaminase (MTG). The effects of AFSP and MTG on the physicochemical and rheological characteristics of MP and MP gel were evaluated. MTG induced an increase shear stress of the MP mixture and increase the breaking force of MP gels. MP gel lightness was decreased by adding AFSP. MP gel with MTG showed higher cooking loss than that without MTG. A reduction of cooking loss was observed when the AFSP was added along with MTG, where the insoluble particles were found. Therefore, AFSP could be contributed as a water holding agent in meat protein gel.

Effects of pH-treated Fish Sarcoplasmic Proteins on the Functional Properties of Chicken Myofibrillar Protein Gel Mediated by Microbial Transglutaminase

pH adjustment would be of advantage in improving the water holding capacity of muscle proteins. The objective of this study was to evaluate the addition of fish sarcoplasmic protein (SP) solution, which was adjusted to pH 3.0 or 12.0, neutralized to pH 7.0, and lyophilized to obtain the acid- and alkaline-treated SP samples, on the functional properties of the chicken myofibrillar protein induced by microbial transglutaminase (MTG). The solubility of alkaline-treated SP was higher than that of the acid counterpart; however, those values of the two pH-treated samples were lower than that of normal SP (p<0.05). All SP solutions were mixed with myofibrillar proteins (MP) extracted from chicken breast, and incubated with MTG. The shear stresses of MP with acid- and alkaline-treated SP were higher than that of normal SP. The thermal stability of MP mixture reduced upon adding SP, regardless of the pH treatment. The breaking force of MP gels with acid-treated SP increased more than those of alkaline-treated SP, while normal SP showed the highest value. The MP gel lightness increased, but cooking loss reduced, with the addition of SP. Smooth microstructure of the gel surface was observed. These results indicated that adjusting the pH of SP improved the water holding capacity of chicken myofibrillar proteins induced by MTG.