On the emerging of thawing drip: Role of myofibrillar protein renaturation

This study aimed to facilitate the understanding on the origin of thawing drip under different freezing rate. Eventually we observed significantly greater thaw loss produced by slow freezing (8.58%) as compared to fast freezing (6.41%) after 24 h of thawing. Back to the freezing, ice crystallization induced decline in pH and the cold denaturation of myofibrillar protein. However, independent of freezing rate, we noticed protein renatur-ation with pH restoring during thawing, evidenced by the decreasing surface hydrophobicity, increasing solu-bility and thermal stability, and gradually stabilized secondary structure. Meanwhile, the water-holding of myofibrils increased with thawing process along with the rising water mobility. Under fast freezing, the results indicated less extensive protein cold denaturation and lower water mobility during thawing. Besides, we pro-posed that the microenvironment of lower ionic strength in fast freezing should benefit the protein renaturation and water re-absorption, ultimately contributed to lower thaw loss.

Automated summary

This study aimed to investigate the origin of thawing drip under different freezing rates. The results showed that slow freezing resulted in greater thaw loss compared to fast freezing. Protein renaturation and water re-absorption were observed during thawing, regardless of the freezing rate, contributing to lower thaw loss.