Effect of Gas Treatment on the Thermal Gelation of Flying Fish Muscle Proteins

Abstract

The effects of gas treatment on the thermal gelation of flying fish muscle proteins were inves-tigated by means of jelly strength and ATPase activity measurements. The thermal gelation curves of the muscle paste by gas-treatment (N₂, CO₂, O₂ gases, and aseptic air) showed very high values over all the temperatures tested. During the gas treatment, the surface proteins were concentrated by dehydration. The gas treatment for actomyosin sols also gave the high levels of jelly strength. When the actomyosin (20mg protein/g) was gas-treated, the Mg- and Ca-ATPase activities showed a tendency to decrease with the prolonged gas-treating time, and the EDTA-ATPase activity decreased after showing a slight increase. The thermal activation of the actomyosin Mg-ATPase was heightened by gas treatment.