Effect of chitooligosaccharides in inhibiting textural deterioration of chicken myofibril protein gel induced by high temperature

In this study, it was found that the addition of chitooligosaccharides (CO) significantly inhibited the textural deterioration of chicken myofibril protein (MP) gel induced by high temperature (95 °C) treatment. Moreover, this treatment also resulted in MP gel with lower cooking loss (P < 0.05) and increased water holding capacity. This was because the addition of CO weakened the hydrophobic interactions between MP, thus significantly inhibiting the excessive aggregation of MP at high temperature. Moreover, this treatment enhanced the hydrogen bonding between MP or MP and CO, promoted the formation of disulfide bond between MP, then the intermolecular forces between MP were changed to a more balanced state, thus contributing to a more homogeneous and much denser gel network structure. Besides, CD spectroscopy indicated that the incorporation of CO resulted in MP gel with increased content of β-sheet and decreased content of α-helix, thus contributing to the formation of a more ordered gel network. So this study provided a promising way to improve the quality of meat products subjected to high temperature treatment.