Effects of Ozone-Induced Oxidation on the Physicochemical Properties of Myofibrillar Proteins Recovered from Bighead Carp (Hypophthalmichthys nobilis)

The effect of oxidation with ozone on myofibrillar proteins from bighead carp (Hypophthalmichthys nobilis) and its influence on the textural properties of surimi gels of bighead carp were investigated. Treatment with ozone of an appropriate concentration significantly increased the salt extractable protein (SEP), Ca2+-ATPase activity, total sulfhydryl and active sulfhydryl contents, surface hydrophobicity, and carbonyl content of the myofibrillar proteins. The breaking force and deformation of the surimi gels of bighead carp initially increased and subsequently decreased as the extent of oxidation increased. Based on sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) analysis, there were no apparent changes in the protein distribution and no new patterns appeared in electrophoresis processing analysis after the ozone treatment. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) found that low concentrations of ozone water rinse had slight effects on thermal stabilities of myofibrillar proteins, which coincided with the above results. The present study indicates that ozone treatment is a prospectively mild oxidation protocol for enhancing the physicochemical properties of fish proteins from bighead carp.