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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Athens, Georgia » U.S. National Poultry Research Center » Quality and Safety Assessment Research Unit » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #304891
Title: Water-holding capacity and protein denatunation in broiler breast meat

Author
item Bowker, Brian
item Zhuang, Hong

Submitted to: International Congress of Meat Science and Technology Proceedings
Publication Type: Proceedings
Publication Acceptance Date: 5/8/2014
Publication Date: 8/17/2014
Citation: Bowker, B.C., Zhuang, H. 2014. Water-holding capacity and protein denatunation in broiler breast meat. International Congress of Meat Science and Technology Proceedings. August 17-22, 2014, Punta Del Este,Uruguay. Short paper ID = 184.

Interpretive Summary: In poultry meat products, water-holding capacity (WHC) influence technological and sensory quality attributes. Looking at the basic mechanisms that control WHC in fresh broiler breast meat, this study demonstrated that the overall degree of protein denaturation, as measured by protein solubility, is not closely related to WHC measurements.

Technical Abstract: The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of protein denaturation on water-holding capacity (WHC) in broiler breast meat. Breast fillets were collected at 2 h postmortem and segregated into two groups (low-WHC and high-WHC) based on pH and color. Protein solubility was measured at 6 and 24 h postmortem. High-WHC fillets had greater brine uptake at 6 and 24 h postmortem and less accumulated drip loss after 2 and 7 days of refrigerated storage compared to low-WHC fillets. Brine uptake increased with postmortem time of sampling. Myofibrillar protein solubility decreased with postmortem time but was not different between low- and high-WHC fillets. Sarcoplasmic protein solubility increased with postmortem time and was greater in high-WHC fillets. Overall protein solubility measurements were not significantly correlated to WHC variables. Increased glycogen phosphorylase denaturation was observed in low-WHC fillets. Brine uptake and drip loss were correlated to the relative abundance of glycogen phosphorylase in both the myofibrillar and sarcoplasmic protein fractions. Data suggest that the denaturation of glycogen phosphorylase onto myofibrils may influence WHC but that inherent differences in myofibrillar protein denaturation are not the predominant source of WHC variation in broiler breast fillets.