Foods, Vol. 14, Pages 2078: Understanding the Protective Effect of Liquid Nitrogen Freezing on Crayfish Quality During Transportation and Storage

Foods doi: 10.3390/foods14122078

Authors:
Gehao Lei
Peng Zhang
Limin Xu
Liuqing Wang
Xiaoyue He
Jiwang Chen

Freezing has been widely used to preserve the freshness and quality of crayfish (Procambarus clarkii). However, temperature fluctuations during transportation and storage inevitably affect the quality attributes of crayfish. In this study, the effect of liquid nitrogen freezing (LNF) on crayfish myofibrillar protein (MP) was investigated under freeze–thaw (FT) cycles. The small ice crystals formed by LNF could reduce the conversion of sulfhydryl groups to disulfide bonds, preventing the exposure of hydrophobic groups, thereby maintaining the functional properties of MP. LNF could prevent the degradation and oxidation of MP and maintain its compact and smooth microstructure. Compared to refrigerator freezing (RF), LNF showed a stronger protective effect on the secondary and tertiary structures of MP, alleviating their conformational changes. Therefore, LNF could be an alternative freezing method to preserve crayfish quality against FT cycles during transportation and storage.

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Gehao Lei www.mdpi.com