Usage of nanocrystalline cellulose as a novel cryoprotective substance for the Nemipterus virgatus surimi during frozen storage

Zhengyi Li; Qi Wang; Shuting Li; Yu Chang; Xuan Zheng; Hui Cao; Yafeng Zheng

doi:10.1016/j.fochx.2022.100506

Usage of nanocrystalline cellulose as a novel cryoprotective substance for the Nemipterus virgatus surimi during frozen storage

Food Chem X. 2022 Nov 11:16:100506. doi: 10.1016/j.fochx.2022.100506. eCollection 2022 Dec 30.

Authors

Zhengyi Li¹, Qi Wang^{2

3}, Shuting Li¹, Yu Chang¹, Xuan Zheng¹, Hui Cao^{4

5}, Yafeng Zheng¹

Affiliations

¹ College of Food Science, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, Fujian 350002, China.
² Institute of Agricultural Engineering, Fujian Academy of Agriculture Sciences, Fuzhou, Fujian 350003, China.
³ Fujian Key Laboratory of Agricultural Product (Food) Processing, Fuzhou 350003, China.
⁴ Universidade de Vigo, Nutrition and Bromatology Group, Department of Analytical and Food Chemistry, Faculty of Sciences, 32004 Ourense, Spain.
⁵ College of Food Science and Technology, Guangdong Ocean University, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Aquatic Product Processing and Safety, Zhanjiang 524088, China.

Abstract

Using a novel natural cryoprotectant to maintain better quality of frozen aquatic products is attracting increasing interests in recent years. This study investigated the cryoprotective effects of bamboo shoot nanocrystalline cellulose (NCC) on Nemipterus virgatus surimi during 60 days of frozen storage. Compared with surimi without any cryoprotectant, NCC addition significantly retard the quick decrease of salt soluble protein content, Ca²⁺-ATPase activity and sulfhydryl content of myofibrillar protein. SDS-PAGE results suggested that NCC could protect the structural integrity of myofibrillar protein, which was confirmed by the enhanced stability of α-helix content of protein. It was also observed that surimi gel incorporated with NCC showed improved gel strength and a more compact microstructure with dense surfaces. This study demonstrated that NCC could potentially serve as a novel natural cryoprotectant for the surimi.

Keywords: Cryoprotectant; Myofibrillar protein; Nanocrystalline cellulose; Surimi.