Effect of Sorbitol on Change in Myofibrillar Protein of Meat Block from Walleye Pollack during Soaking in NaCl Solution.

Meat blocks from walleye pollack were soaked in solutions containing 0.5-1.0M NaCl (N), 0.5-1.5M sorbitol (S), or their combinations with varied ratios for 24 hours at 4°C. During soaking, the increase in N and S of the meat, and the denaturation of myofibrillar protein as measured by the loss of Ca-ATPase activity and the cross-linking of myosin heavy chain of the same meat were investigated. The results were as follows: (1) The permeation of N into the meat depended on the concentration of N but not on the copresence of S concentration. (2) The permeation of S depended on the concentration of S, although the rate of permeation varied with the copresence of N concentration. (3) With increasing the concentration of N in the meat, the denaturation of myofibrillar protein accelerated, whereas increasing the concentration of S suppressed the same change. These findings suggest that the quality of meat block soaked in NaCl-sorbitol solution can be controlled by selecting the concentration and relative proportion of N and S in the soaking solution.