Abstract:

Effects of protein concentration (25, 20, 15, 10, 5 mg/ml) diluted using phosphate buffer at pH 6.5 containing 0.6 mol/L KCl on heat-induced gel properties (ultramicrostructure, water holding capacity, hardness and elasticity) of myosin from rabbit psoas major muscles were investigated. Protein concentration revealed a significant effect on the gel properties. In gels formed at increasing myosin concentration, the gel networks became tighter, and the network diameter decreased from 6－10μm to 2 μm. When the myosin concentration reached a value above 15 mg/ml, protein aggregates appeared. Moreover, with the increasing of protein concentration, remarkable increases in water holding capacity, hardness and elasticity were observed from 28.38% to 86.96%, 7.07 to 36.23 g, and 0.25 to 0.80, respectively.