Changes in the amount of nucleotides and their related compounds, volatile bases, and trimethylamine in the muscle of plaice,
Palalichtys olivaceous, and skipjack,
Katsuwonus pelamis, during ice storage were studied with particular reference to the freshness of fish muscle. The specimens of fishes were killed with as little struggling as possible by piercing the spinal cords, and they were stored at 0-0.5°C. The sample muscles were taken at intervals throughout the storage period, and the extractives to be tested were prepared with perchloric acid and trichloroacetic acid. Nucleotides and their related compounds were determined by chromatography on columns of Dowex 1×8. The results obtained are shown in Figs. 1-4, and Table 1, and the main features are as follows:
(1) The freshness of the sample fishes was organoleptically lowered in spite of little changes in the both amounts of volatile bases and trimethylamine were noted, and consequently it is considered that the degradation of freshness of fish is effected by the autolysis rather than by the bacterial action.
(2) Although changes in the amount of nucleotides and their related compounds are considered to be important indices of autolysis of fish muscle, the rates of nucleotide degradation were remarkably varied between two samples of plaice (Fig. 4) in spite of little differences of freshness were observed; the freshness of the fish, so far as these two samples of plaice are concerned, could not be estimated by the indices. That the rates of nucleotide degradation were markedly varied according to individuals is considered to be originated in the difference of the physiological states of the fish before they were killed.
(3) K value which had been proposed for an objective index for freshness of fish by SAITO
et al2) seems to correspond to the results made by the organoleptic observation. Even for the skipjack in which little Hx was accumulated, the K value was useful as an objective index (Table 1).
抄録全体を表示