Effects of phosphorylated ovalbumin on the quality of pork myofibrillar protein gel: an insight into gelling and physicochemical properties

This study aimed to investigate the effects of phosphorylated-ovalbumin (P-OVA) at different concentrations (0.5% and 1.0%) on the gel properties of pork myofibrillar protein (MP). The results showed that the textural properties such as gel hardness, cohesiveness, springiness and chewiness were improved with P-OVA addition at 0.5%. The water holding capacity (up to 75.89%) and gel strength (up to 168.56 g·mm) of MP gel were markedly increased after P-OVA addition. The absolute value of zeta potential reached 13.85 mV and maximum hydrophobicity (15.2 μg) resulted from the addition of 0.5% P-OVA. The storage modulus (G’) and loss modulus (G’’) of MP gel were significantly increased from 50°C, and the G’ and G’’ significantly increased after 1.0% P-OVA addition, evidencing that the cross-linking effect of MP protein gel was enhanced. In addition, the P-OVA addition improved the structure of MP gel protein by reducing the α-helix, while increasing the β-sheet and the r-value (the ratio between two ultraviolet second-derivative peak-to-trough distances), which further promoted the uniform and compact gel network structure. This work demonstrated that P-OVA is a highly effective modifier that significantly improves the quality of MP gel. From a view of practice, 0.5% P-OVA is the optimal addition amount.