AUTHOR=Zou Xiaoyu , He Jing , Zhao Di , Zhang Min , Xie Yunting , Dai Chen , Wang Chong , Li Chunbao 

TITLE=Structural Changes and Evolution of Peptides During Chill Storage of Pork

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Nutrition

VOLUME=7

YEAR=2020

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/nutrition/articles/10.3389/fnut.2020.00151

DOI=10.3389/fnut.2020.00151

ISSN=2296-861X

ABSTRACT=<p>In this work, we investigated changes in protein structures in vacuum-packed pork during chill storage and its impact on the <italic>in vitro</italic> protein digestion. <italic>Longissimus dorsi</italic> muscles were vacuum packed and stored at 4°C for 3 days. Samples were subjected to Raman spectroscopy, <italic>in vitro</italic> digestion and nano LC-MS/MS. The 3 d samples had lower α-helix content, but higher β-sheet, β-turn, and random coil contents than the 0 d samples (<italic>P</italic> &lt; 0.05). SDS-PAGE revealed significant protein degradation in the 3 d samples and the differences in digested products across the storage time. Proteome analysis indicated that the 3 d samples had the higher susceptibility to digestion. Increasing protein digestibility was mainly attributed to the degradation of myofibrillar proteins. Thus, exposure of more enzymatic sites in loose protein structure during chill storage could increase protein degradation in meat.</p>