Effects of arginine-glucose Maillard reaction products on the physicochemical and gel properties of chicken myofibrillar protein

Maillard reaction can influence the functionalities of myofibrillar protein (MP). Protein-saccharide Maillard-type conjugates improve the solubility of MP but impair its thermal gelling ability. Besides, the influences of Maillard reaction occurred between reducing sugar and free amino acids on MP were not inspected yet. In this study, arginine-glucose Maillard reaction products (MRPs) were adopted to investigate their effects on the physicochemical and gel properties of chicken MP. The results showed that Arg-Glc MRPs significantly decreased surface hydrophobicity and the content of reactive sulfhydryl group, subsequently influenced the gelling behavior and gel properties, e.g., water holding capacity and gel strength. The dynamic rheological results revealed that MRPs reduced the storage modulus value effectively. Scanning electron microscopy showed that the three-dimensional network structure of MP gel became coarser and irregular by the treatment of Arg-Glc MRPs. These results suggested that Arg-Glc MRPs have influences on both the physicochemical properties and the gel properties of MP, which may provide new information to the effects of MRPs on the water holding capacity and texture of meat products.