How ultrasound combined with potassium alginate marination tenderizes old chicken breast meat: Possible mechanisms from tissue to protein.

The combined effects of ultrasound (intensity of 15.6 W/cm ² and sonication for 5 min) with potassium alginate (PA) marination (UPA) on tenderizing old chicken breast meat, and possible mechanisms from tissue to protein, were investigated. UPA-treated meat exhibited the lowest moisture loss and shear force (optimized tenderness). The increased fiber space benefited PA invasion to form a heat-induced barrier for harder muscle contraction and avoid moisture withdrawal. Special scale-like structures of dried myofibrillar protein (MP) and the three-dimensional network induced by interactions between PA and MP increased the tenderness. UPA treatment induced stronger electrostatic repulsion between PA molecules and more β-sheet structures of MP, accompanied by a smallest size. The more easily heat-denatured myosin and looser myofibrils accelerated the temperature rise. More immobilized water restricted to myofibrils and moisture captured in the gel network promoted water retention. UPA treatment could be a promising technology to tenderize old chicken breast meat.
Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.
(Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)