Cryoprotective Effect of Sericin Enzymatic Peptides on the Freeze-Induced Denaturation of Grass Carp Surimi

In this study, cryoprotective effects of sericin enzymatic peptides (SEP) on the freeze-induced denaturation of grass carp surimi were evaluated on the basis of sulfhydryl content and surface hydrophobicity of actomyosin, as well as the SDS-PAGE pattern of myosin heavy chain (MHC) of myofibrillar proteins. Results show that SEP, containing a high polar amino acid content and abundant in amino acids with hydroxyl-containing side chain (Ser and Thr), was effective in preventing the decrease of SH content, slowing down the exposure of buried hydrophobic residues on the protein surface, and retarding the degradation of MHC in a non-linear dosage-dependent way. These findings suggest that SEP obtained in our study appear to be a promising cryoprotectant applied in the frozon storage of surimi.