Application of plant proteolytic enzymes for tenderization of rabbit meat

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to assess the tenderizing effect of plant proteolytic enzymes upon raw rabbit meat. Tests are performed on rabbit meat samples treated with papain and two vegetal sources of natural proteases (extracts of kiwifruit and ginger root). Two variants of marinade solutions are prepared from each vegetable raw materials- 50% (w/w) and 100 % (w/w), with a duration of processing 2h, 24h, and 48h. Changes in the following physicochemical characteristics of meat have been observed: pH, water-holding capacity, cooking losses and quantity of free amino acids. Differences in values of these characteristics have been observed, both between control and test samples, as well as depending of treatment duration. For meat samples marinated with papain and ginger extracts, the water-holding capacity reached to 6.74 ± 0.04 % (papain), 5.58 ± 0.09 % (variant 1) and 6.80 ± 0.11 % (variant 2) after 48 hours treatment. In rabbit meat marinated with kiwifruit extracts, a significant increase in WHC was observed at 48 hours, 3.37 ± 0.07 (variant 3) and 6.84 ± 0.11 (variant 4). The test samples also have reduced cooking losses compared to control samples. In control samples, cooking loss is increased from 13.79% (2 h) to 20.78 % (48 h). SDS-PAGE of meat samples after 48 h of treatment shows a reduction in the intensity of actin and myosin bands in all variants with papain and vegetal extracts. Electrophoretic pattern of test samples depicts proteolysis and degradation of muscle proteins.

Keywords

• tenderization
• rabbit meat
• papain
• kiwifruit
• ginger root