Effects of the Mixture of Xylooligosaccharides and Egg White Protein on the Physicochemical Properties, Conformation, and Gel-Forming Ability of Culter alburnus Myofibrillar Protein during Multiple Freeze-Thaw Cycles

Zhongli Zhang; Zhouyi Xiong; Noman Walayat; Jose M Lorenzo; Asad Nawaz; Hanguo Xiong

doi:10.3390/foods10092007

Effects of the Mixture of Xylooligosaccharides and Egg White Protein on the Physicochemical Properties, Conformation, and Gel-Forming Ability of Culter alburnus Myofibrillar Protein during Multiple Freeze-Thaw Cycles

Foods. 2021 Aug 26;10(9):2007. doi: 10.3390/foods10092007.

Authors

Zhongli Zhang¹, Zhouyi Xiong², Noman Walayat³, Jose M Lorenzo^{4

5}, Asad Nawaz⁶, Hanguo Xiong¹

Affiliations

¹ College of Food Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China.
² Fisheries Research Institute, Wuhan Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Wuhan 430207, China.
³ Department of Food Science and Engineering, College of Ocean, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou 310014, China.
⁴ Centro Tecnológico de la Carne de Galicia, Avd. Galicia N° 4, Parque Tecnológico de Galicia, San Cibrao das Viñas, 32900 Ourense, Spain.
⁵ Área de Tecnología de los Alimentos, Facultad de Ciencias de Ourense, Universidad de Vigo, 32004 Ourense, Spain.
⁶ Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Crop Genetics and Physiology, College of Agriculture, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou 225009, China.

Abstract

This study focuses on the effect of the mixture (XO/EW) of xylooligosaccharides (XO) and egg white protein (EW) on the physicochemical properties, conformation, and gel-forming ability of Culter alburnus myofibrillar proteins (MP) during multiple freeze-thaw (FT) cycles. In our methodology, MP samples added with EW, XO, or XO/EW mixture (1%, v/v) are prepared, and after multiple FT cycles, the XO or XO/EW-treated samples show significant (p < 0.05) inhibition on the decrease of sulfhydryl content and the increase of carbonyl content of MP. Compared with EW, XO or XO/EW could delay the increase of surface hydrophobicity and the decline of secondary and tertiary structural properties of MP, indicating that XO or XO/EW could more effectively increase the stability of MP conformation. Meanwhile, XO/EW could more effectively reduce the decrease of gel strength and gel water holding capacity, and the increase in the T₂ relaxation time of MP gel, confirming that XO/EW could substantially improve the MP gel-forming ability. Analysis of intermolecular interaction force proves that, compared with EW, XO/EW could reduce the content decrease of ionic and hydrogen bonds in MP gel. Overall, XO/EW could improve the stability of MP functional properties over multiple FT cycles. This study provides a new perspective for the potential commercial application of EW as a low-calorie cryoprotectant in aquatic products.

Keywords: Culter alburnus; egg white protein; freeze–thaw cycles; myofibrillar protein; xylooligosaccharides.

Abstract

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