Green ham pH value affects proteomic profile of dry-cured ham

In the present study we investigated the effect of green ham pH value on the proteomic profile of m. biceps femoris of the 14 month old 'Kraski prsut' dry hams. Two groups (n=12) of samples were chosen according to green ham m. semimembranosus pH (i.e. low pH group with values from 5.51 to 5.60 and high pH group with values from 5.80 to 6.18). Two groups of hams were similar with regard to fat thickness and ham weight. The myofibrillar muscle protein fraction was extracted from dry-cured ham m. biceps femoris and separated using 2-dimensional electrophoresis technique. More than 1,000 protein spots were detected on the gels, out of which 100 spots had significantly different intensity according to pH group. Notable clustering of the spots was observed on the gel images. Namely, the protein spots differentiating low and high pH groups were more intense in the acidic part of the gel for the low pH group, and in the basic part for the high pH group. The proteomic approach proved to be a suitable tool to investigate the influence of green ham pH on the pattern of protein degradation. However, further research (protein spot identification, association with sensory properties) is in progress.