Abstract: The differences in physicochemical properties of oat, pea and apple dietary fibers and the effects of their addition on gel properties of low-salt (1% NaCl, m/m) chicken breast surimi were studied. The results showed that the water-holding capacity and swelling power of the three dietary fibers in descending order were pea dietary fiber > apple dietary fiber > oat dietary fiber. The addition of each of these dietary fibers could significantly improve the cooking yield, hardness and chewiness of low-salt chicken breast surimi (P < 0.05), and the effect of pea and apple dietary fibers was more pronounced than that of oat dietary fiber. All the dietary fibers could increase the storage modulus (Gʹ), shorten the transverse relaxation time of free water (T22), increase the relative contents of weakly bound water (P2b) and immobilized water (P21) in the gel, and promote the formation of a compact and dense three-dimensional network structure. Pea dietary fiber significantly increased the relative content of β-sheet structure (P < 0.05), whereas apple and oat dietary fibers significantly increased the relative content of β-turn (P < 0.05). In conclusion, oat, pea and apple dietary fibers can significantly improve the water-holding capacity and texture properties of low-salt chicken breast surimi gel by changing the rheological properties, water mobility and distribution, microstructure and protein secondary structure.

Key words: low-salt; chicken breast surimi gel; improvement; dietary fiber