Effect of Calcium Salts on the Properties of Proteins from Oil Sardine (Sardinella longiceps) During Frozen Storage

ABSTRACT:  The effect of calcium sulfate and calcium chloride on the enzymatic and structural properties of actomyosin isolated from sardine was investigated. Mince was prepared from sardine and different concentrations of calcium chloride and calcium sulfate were added to the mince and kept in frozen condition at ?20 °C. The physico-chemical and functional properties of proteins from mince were analyzed as a function of time. The solubility of proteins decreased during storage. The reduction in solubility was less for samples treated with calcium chloride. However, sardine mince showed better functionality during storage in the presence of calcium compounds. The ATPase enzyme activity of actomyosin increased with increase in concentration of calcium and decreased after reaching the maximum value. ATPase activity of proteins from mince decreased during storage at low temperature. The reduction in ATPase activity did not correlate with the loss of functionality of proteins. SDS-PAGE did not reveal any major changes in the protein profile during storage as well as in the presence of different concentration of calcium compounds. The secondary structural content of actomyosin was not altered in the presence of both calcium chloride and calcium sulfate as evident from circular dichroic measurements.