Influence of the Mixture of Carrageenan Oligosaccharides and Egg White Protein on the Gelation Properties of <i>Culter alburnus</i> Myofibrillar Protein under Repeated Freezing–Thawing Cycles

Abstract

This study aims to investigate the influence of the mixture (CGO/EWP) of carrageenan oligosaccharide (CGO) and egg white protein (EWP) (CGO/EWP, CGO: EWP = 1:1, m/m) on the functional, structural, and gelling properties of Culter alburnus myofibrillar protein (MP) during repeated freezing–thawing cycles by treating MP samples separately with EWP, CGO, or CGO/EWP based on the wet weight (1%, m/m), using samples without any cryoprotectant as the blank group. After the second repeated freezing–thawing cycle, the sulfhydryl group content was found to be significantly (p p 22 relaxation time (413.56 versus 474.99 ms). The integrated results indicated that CGO/EWP could more effectively delay the decrease of protein–water molecular interaction forces in the MP gel. This study shed light on the mechanism of CGO/EWP as a cryoprotective mixture in improving the deterioration of MP gelation properties during repeated freezing–thawing cycles.

Keywords

• carrageenan oligosaccharide
• egg white protein
• gelation properties
• myofibrillar protein
• <i>Culter alburnus</i>