Abstract: The differences in physicochemical properties of oat, pea and apple dietary fiber and their effects on gel properties of low-salt (1% mass fraction NaCl) minced chicken breast meat were studied. The results showed that the water retention and swelling ability of the three dietary fibers in descending order were pea dietary fiber > apple dietary fiber > oat dietary fiber. The addition of three dietary fiber could significantly improve the cooking yield, hardness and chewiness of low-salt minced chicken breast meat (P < 0.05), and the improvement effect of pea and apple dietary fiber was better than that of oat dietary fiber. The three kinds of dietary fiber could increase the storage modulus (G?) value of the minced meat, shorten the transverse relaxation time of free water (T22), increase the relative content of weak bound water (P2b) and immobilized water (P21) in the gel, and promote the formation of compact and dense gel three-dimensional network structure. Pea dietary fiber significantly increased the relative content of β-sheet in protein secondary structure (P < 0.05), whereas apple and oat dietary fiber significantly increased β-turn relative content (P < 0.05). In conclusion, oat, pea and apple dietary fiber can significantly improve the water holding capacity and texture properties of low-salt minced chicken breast meat gel by changing the rheological properties, water mobility and distribution state, microstructure and protein secondary structure of the minced meat system.

Key words: low-salt, minced chicken breast meat gel, improvement, dietary fiber