Effects of heat sterilization on protein physicochemical properties and release of metabolites of braised chicken after in vitro digestion.

Heat sterilization enhances the safety and shelf-life of braised chicken, but its impact on protein digestibility and the release of metabolites remains unclear. Here, braised chicken was sterilized at 80 °C (LS), 100 °C (MS), and 121 °C (HS) for 30 min. Protein digestibility was assessed by in vitro digestion, whereas the release of metabolites was analysed by UPLC-QTOF-MS spectroscopy. Results revealed that LS had higher gastrointestinal digestibility (88.86 %) than MS (81.79 %) and HS (78.13 %). Increased carbonyl content, turbidity, particle size, and hydrophobicity, along with decreased sulfhydryl content and solubility, indicated rising protein oxidation aggregation with higher sterilization temperatures, explaining reduced digestibility. 96 metabolites were identified. Compared to the control group, LS exhibited a statistically significant variation in the biosynthesis of unsaturated fatty acids, MS displayed a significant difference in purine metabolism, and HS showed a significant difference in primary bile acid biosynthesis. Thus, LS is a promising sterilization method.