Autolysis of goatfish (Mulloidichthys martinicus) mince: Characterisation and effect of washing and skin inclusion

Autolysis of goatfish mince and washed mince incubated at different temperatures (30–70 °C) was investigated. The highest autolytic activity was generally observed in mince and washed mince at 60 °C as evidenced by the highest trichloroacetic acid (TCA) soluble peptide content and the greatest disappearance of myosin heavy chains (MHCs). Autolysis of both mince and washed mince was maximised at pH 4, and lower autolytic activity was observed at pH 7. trans-epoxysuccinyl-l-leucyl-amido (4-guanidino) butane (E-64) showed the greatest inhibition of autolysis at pH 4, showing that at least one cysteine protease was active in goatfish muscle. Nevertheless, soybean trypsin inhibitor effectively inhibited the autolysis at neutral pH (pH 7), suggesting that goatfish muscle also contained at least one serine protease. Generally, autolysis of mince was more pronounced than that of washed mince, indicating that washing could lower the autolytic activity of mince. In the presence of skin, a higher autolysis was obtained with the goatfish mince. Therefore, both sarcoplasmic and myofibril-associated proteases in muscle as well as the contamination of skin likely contributed to the degradation of muscle proteins of goatfish.