Effects of Psyllium Husk Powder on Gel Properties and Protein Structure of Chicken Myofibrillar Protein

This experiment was conducted to study the effects of various amounts of psyllium husk powder (PHP) on the gel properties and protein structure of the myofibrillar protein-PHP (MP-PHP) composite gel system. The PHP at 0%, 0.5%, 1%, 1.5% and 2% concentrations was added to MP diluted to 40 mg/mL to form different MP-PHP systems subjected to a water bath at 80 ℃ for 30 min. The effects of PHP on chicken MP gel properties were investigated by measuring gel strength, water retention, dynamic rheological properties and water distribution characteristics of composite gel. On the other hand, the changes of protein structure were investigated by MP active sulfhydryl group, surface hydrophobicity, and secondary structure determination. Results showed that when the addition of PHP increased in the range of 0% to 1.5%, the water retention and gel strength of MP-PHP composite gel gradually increased to 80.51% and 73.79 g·mm, respectively. However, when the addition of PHP was increased to 2%, the water retention and gel strength fluctuated only slightly. Meanwhile, the addition of PHP significantly improved the viscoelasticity of the composite gel, among which 1.5% was the best. Furthermore, the results of circular dichroism showed that the transformation of α-helix and random curling to β-folding and β-turning of MP benefited from the addition of 1.5% PHP, which improved the functional properties of the gel. Therefore, adding appropriate amount of PHP is an effective way to improve the gel properties and protein structural properties of MP, which is of great significance for improving the quality of chicken products.