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The effects of post-mortem storage on fish muscle proteins.

Author(s) : MACKIE I. M.

Summary

Proteins are the major organic constituents of fish flesh. They are responsible for a wide range of functions, including structure, metabolism and the mechanism of contraction and relaxation which provides the means of movement of the animal.
The proteins present in fish muscle can be broadly categorised into three main groups: sarcoplasmic, myofibrillar and connective tissue proteins. The sarcoplasmic proteins (20-35% of total proteins) are water-soluble and are mainly enzymes of metabolism. The myofibrillar proteins (65-75% of total proteins) are salt-soluble and largely responsible for the textural properties of muscle. They include the contractile proteins myosin and actin and other minor proteins associated with the contractile mechanism. The connective tissue proteins (3-10% of total proteins) are mainly collagen.
Investigations have shown that on post-mortem storage, there is no change in either composition or enzymic activity of the sarcoplasmic proteins. There is some evidence of change in enzymatic activity of myosin and of some degree of denaturation of both myosin and actin. Proteolysis o skeletal proteins also takes place and collagen is broken down to some extent. The softening o muscle can be explained as being due to the breakdown of minor proteins which link the major structural units together. These structural changes can be observed by microscope and to some extent by texturometer. Changes in the characters of the individual proteins can only be determined after lengthy and specialised techniques of isolation. These methods are not suita e for industrial use.
Currently there are no rapid methods for determining changes in muscle proteins during postmortem storage. Instrumental methods of measuring changes in texture, however, are more promising.

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Pages: p 185-189

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Details

  • Original title: The effects of post-mortem storage on fish muscle proteins.
  • Record ID : 30033818
  • Languages: English
  • Subject: General information
  • Source: Proceedings of the Final Meeting of the Concerted Action "Evaluation of Fish Freshness" AIR3CT94 2283: Methods to Determine the Freshness of Fish in Research and Industry.
  • Publication date: 1997
  • Document available for consultation in the library of the IIR headquarters only.

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