Water-extractable zinc protoporphyrin IX in Parma ham predominantly exists as complexes with hemoglobin and myoglobin

Abstract Zinc protoporphyrin IX (ZnPP) is the dominant red pigment in nitrate/nitrite free dry-cured hams such as Parma ham. A large amount of ZnPP in Parma ham is water-extractable and is thought to exist in complexes with unidentified water-soluble proteins. This study was done to clarify these ZnPP-binding proteins to provide insight into the ZnPP-forming mechanism. The ZnPP-binding proteins were purified from Parma ham water extract (PHE) through a combination of hydrophobic interaction chromatography, urea-PAGE, and SDS-PAGE, and finally identified as hemoglobin (Hb) and myoglobin (Mb). According to western blotting analysis of PHE, ZnPP-Hb and ZnPP-Mb complexes were observed as both intact and proteolyzed forms, and the formation of these complexes was independent of proteolysis. The amount of total ZnPP-Hb complexes was ~3-fold higher than total ZnPP-Mb complexes. These results suggested that the heme destabilization in the heme pocket is important rather than proteolysis for forming ZnPP-binding proteins.