Mechanism of low-salt surimi gelation induced by microwave heating combined with l-arginine and transglutaminase: On the basis of molecular docking between l-arginine and myosin heavy chain

The reduction of the salt content of foods is of interest for health reasons. The present study showed that low-salt surimi gels could be produced using a combination of l-arginine (Arg) and transglutaminase (TGase) under microwave (MW) irradiation. The low-salt surimi gels produced by MW had similar physicochemical properties as regular-salt surimi gels produced by conventional two-stage water bath heating. Compared to low-salt surimi gels containing TGase alone, Arg increased the water holding capacity and gel strength (P < 0.05) and promoted the formation of a more homogeneous and compact three-dimensional gel network. As a result, there was a significant increase in the proportion of immobilized water and decrease in the proportion of free water (P < 0.05). The nature of the binding sites between Arg and myosin heavy chain was predicted using the molecular docking simulations analysis. These results may be useful for the development of low-salt surimi products.