Research Advances on Transglutaminases and Their Applications in Food Industry

Transglutaminase (TGase), one of the natural food cross-linking agents with strong cross-linking function, form network structures among proteins via ε- (γ-glutamyl) -lysine (G-L) bonds.TGase can catalyze the crosslinking, deamidation and glycosylation of proteins, which exhibites great potential in food application, such as improving the hardness, viscosity, elasticity and water retention of food. Its cross-linking ability can be applied in dairy products production, such as cheese, meat products processing, production of edible films and microcapsules, etc. For the purpose of providing and effective reference for the research of TGase improving protein functional properties and enhancing food quality, this article aummarized, the molecular structure and action mechanism of TGase and the recent research progress in the use of it for food quality improvement.