Abstract:

In order to explore gel properties of mixed surimi from silver carp surimi and Nemipterus virgatus at various
ratios, the gel strength, water holding capacity, cooking loss rate, whiteness, transverse relaxation time, microstructure and
myofibrillar protein of mixed surimi gels were analyzed in the present study. The results showed that the whiteness of mixed
surimi was significantly promoted compared with the pure Nemipterus virgatus surimi gel (P < 0.05), and the whiteness
of the mixed surimi gel from silver carp and Nemipterus virgatus with a ratio of 5:1 was improved compared with the pure
silver carp surimi gel. At this ratio, gel properties of the mixed surimi gel were the best. The breaking force, deformation,
gel strength and water holding capacity increased by 18.33%, 27.29%, 51.01% and 5.65%, respectively, compared with the
pure silver carp surimi gel, and by 5.84%, 19.50%, 26.49% and 3.45%, respectively, compared with the pure Nemipterus
virgatus surimi gel. In addition, cooking loss of the mixed surimi was lowered by 15.88% and 7.48% than that of silver
carp surimi gel and Nemipterus virgatus surimi gel, respectively; the transverse relaxation time T22 of the mixed surimi gel was
shorter by 10.34 ms in comparison with silver carp surimi gel. As observed under scanning electron microscope, microstructure of
the mixed surimi gel from silver carp and Nemipterus virgatus with a ratio of 5:1 was highly uniform and dense. Sodium dodecyl
sulfatepolyacrylamide gel electropheresis (SDS-PAGE) of myofibrillar protein indicated that the myosin heavy chain (MHC)
cross-linked and formed large molecular weight aggregates so that less MHC entered the gel and the strip was more narrow.

Key words: silver carp, Nemipterus virgatus, mixed surimi, gel properties, microstructure, transverse relaxation time