Effects of Transglutaminase on the Properties of Salt-treated Horse Mackerel Meat

Abstract

The effect of transglutaminase (TGase) on salt-treated horse mackerel meat was studied in order to improve the quality of salted and dried fish products. Chopped meat from fresh horse mackerel was soaked in a solution containing 2.0M NaCl(pH 7.0)for 24 h at 4°C. The addition of TGase(0.5%; w/w) noticeably increased the breaking strength compared with the control. The formation of cross-links of the myosin heavy chain was observed by SDS-PAGE when TGase was added to the salt-treated meat. The results indicate that TGase could induce cross-links of the myosin heavy chain and improve the physical properties when treating horse mackerel meat with NaCl.