Effect of Non-phosphate Water-Retaining Agents on the Quality Changes of Conditioned Snakehead Fillets during Frozen Storage
JIE Gang, WANG Haibin, WANG Qi, PENG Lijuan, LIU Zhengfang, LI Pei, XU Yi
1. College of Food Science and Engineering, Wuhan Polytechnic University, Wuhan 430023, China; 2. Key Laboratory of Yeast Function in Hubei Province, Yichang 443000, China
Abstract：In order to improve the storage quality of frozen prepared fish fillets and to reduce the use of phosphate in the processing of fish products, the effects of non-phosphate water-retaining agents on the quality of prepared snakehead fillets during frozen storage were studied. Four non-phosphate water-retaining agents, trehalose, sodium citrate, sodium bicarbonate and L-arginine, were investigated using one-factor-at-a-time experiments. The mixing ratio of these water-retaining agents was optimized using L16 (44) orthogonal array design. The thawing loss rate, cooking loss rate, texture properties, water distribution, pH value, total volatile basic nitrogen (TVB-N) content, thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) value, myofibrillar protein content and Ca2+-ATPase activity of the product prepared with the optimum combination were determined. The optimum formulation consisted of 0.4% trehalose, 0.8% sodium citrate, 1.5% sodium bicarbonate and 0.8% L-arginine (m/m). The results showed that with increasing frozen storage time, the thawing loss rate, cooking loss rate, TVB-N content and TBARS value of prepared snakehead fillet treated with compound phosphate, the combination of non-phosphate water-retaining agents or no additives (control) were significantly increased (P < 0.05), and the rate of increase of these parameters was lower in the non-phosphate water-retaining agent group than in the other two groups. For the three groups, the pH value showed a decreasing and then increasing trend. Among these groups, the non-phosphate water retaining agent group showed the smallest pH changes, and its texture characteristics, free water relative content, myofibrillar protein content and Ca2+-ATPase activity were significantly higher than those of the control group (P < 0.05), and also higher than those of the compound phosphate group. In summary, the combination of non-phosphorus water-retaining agents can improve the water-retaining capacity and delay the quality deterioration of frozen prepared snakehead fillets.
揭 刚，王海滨，王 琦，彭利娟，刘政芳，李 沛，徐 奕. 复合无磷保水剂对冷冻调理黑鱼片冻藏期间品质变化的影响[J]. 肉类研究, 2026, 40(1): 74-82.
JIE Gang, WANG Haibin, WANG Qi, PENG Lijuan, LIU Zhengfang, LI Pei, XU Yi. Effect of Non-phosphate Water-Retaining Agents on the Quality Changes of Conditioned Snakehead Fillets during Frozen Storage. Meat Research, 2026, 40(1): 74-82.
2026, Vol. 40 
