Proteins

Abstract

The radiation-chemical changes in proteins depend strongly on irradiation conditions. Therefore, irradiation treatment can considerably increase the cohesive strength of proteins by the formation of cross-links. However, above a certain dose, the irradiation stops inducing cross-links and has the opposite effect on the protein structure (softer and considerable loss of cohesiveness). Therefore, it is very important to optimize the use of indicators such as TMA-N and TVB-N, TMA, and TBARs, in conjunction with sensory assessment, to ensure that irradiation treatment induces the desired results per case. Most of the research to date has been carried out mainly on proteins of animal origin, such as meat (collagen, gelatin, and globulin), chicken, egg and dairy proteins (casein caseinate salts), and, to a lesser extent, on proteins of plant origin irradiated for disinfestation purposes and improvement of physical properties by means of cross-linking. Both TVB-N and TMA-N of γ-irradiated fish increased substantially with long storage time. The latter is a very important factor that will have to be taken into account because in most cases, the previously mentioned indicators could be used to provide an indication of how long after the irradiation treatment the detection of the irradiated proteins is feasible. © 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.