The Effect of Age on the Myosin Thermal Stability and Gel Quality of Beijing Duck Breast

Abstract

The effect of age (22, 30, 38, and 46 days) on Beijing duck breast myosin gels was investigated. The results showed that the water holding capacity (WHC) and gel strength were markedly improved at the age of 30 days. Differential scanning calorimetry suggested that the myosin thermal ability increased at the age of 30 and 38 days (p<0.05). A compact myosin gel network with thin cross-linked strands and small regular cavities formed at the age of 30 days, which was resulted from the higher content of hydrophobic interactions and disulfide bonds. Moreover, the surface hydrophobicity of myosin extracted from a 30-day-old duck breast decreased significantly under temperature higher than 80℃ (p<0.05). This study illustrated that myosin extracted from a 30-day-old duck's breast enhanced and stabilized the WHC, thermal stability and molecular forces within the gel system. It concluded that age is an essential influencing factor on the myosin thermal stability and gel quality of Beijing duck due to the transformation of fibrils with different myosin character.

Effect of Protein Thermal Denaturation on the Texture Profile Evolution of Beijing Roast Duck

“…When meat is heated, protein is thermal denatured and functional groups such as hydrophobic groups are unfolded and exposed. Meanwhile, hydrogen bonds and ionic bonds are formed, which could result in the aggregation of proteins and the emergence of a three-dimensional network [ 10 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 ]. However, the turning points of duck breast meat were different with various final cooked temperatures [ 34 ].…”

“…Heat treatment, such as roasting, could lead to changes in the intermolecular forces of proteins [ 11 , 24 , 25 , 26 ], and the protein denatures as heating temperature increases [ 19 ], further causing some fiber shrinkage [ 8 , 32 , 33 , 39 , 40 ] and the formation of gel in proteins at the same time [ 20 , 21 , 26 ], finally resulting in the formation of texture [ 3 , 45 ].…”