School of Food and Pharmacy, Zhejiang Ocean University, Zhoushan 316022, China.
School of Nursing, Zhejiang Pharmaceutical University, Ningbo 315500, China.
Carbohydr Polym. 2023 Apr 1;305:120550. doi: 10.1016/j.carbpol.2023.120550. Epub 2023 Jan 6.
Inulin is a prebiotic carbohydrate widely used in food industry due to its health benefits and unique rheological properties. For the first time, this study explores the potential of natural inulin as a sustainable food additive to enhance surimi gel characteristics, specifically focusing on understanding its molecular weight effects. The good solubility of inulin facilitates the conversion of α-helix to other secondary conformations which are favorable for protein denaturation and aggregation during gelation. Moreover, the abundant -OH groups at the surface of inulin can boost the chemical forces within surimi proteins to reinforce the gel network. Compared to short-chain inulin, long-chain inulin can alleviate proteolysis, enhance hydrophobic interactions and intertwine with myosin molecules, thereby reinforcing the gel network. A more viscous long-chain inulin solution formed within surimi gels fills the space between aggregated proteins and facilitates the lock of water molecules, improving the water-holding capacity (WHC). Thus, an addition of 12 % long-chain inulin leads to an enhanced hardness of surimi gel from 943 to 1593 and improved WHC from 72 % to 85 %. A new inulin-myosin interaction mechanism model is also proposed to provide useful guidelines for surimi processing and expanding the application of inulin within the food industries.
菊粉是一种广泛应用于食品工业的益生元碳水化合物，具有健康益处和独特的流变性能。本研究首次探索了天然菊粉作为可持续食品添加剂的潜力，以增强鱼糜凝胶特性，特别是研究其分子量的影响。菊粉的良好溶解性有利于α-螺旋向其他二级构象的转化，有利于蛋白质在凝胶过程中的变性和聚集。此外，菊粉表面丰富的-OH 基团可以增强鱼糜蛋白内部的化学力，从而增强凝胶网络。与短链菊粉相比，长链菊粉可以减轻蛋白水解作用，增强疏水相互作用，并与肌球蛋白分子交织，从而增强凝胶网络。在鱼糜凝胶中形成的更粘稠的长链菊粉溶液填充在聚集蛋白之间的空间，并促进水分子的锁定，从而提高保水性（WHC）。因此，添加 12%的长链菊粉可使鱼糜凝胶的硬度从 943 增加到 1593，保水性从 72%提高到 85%。还提出了菊粉-肌球蛋白相互作用机制模型，为鱼糜加工提供了有用的指导，并扩大了菊粉在食品工业中的应用。
