Mechanism study of high browning degree of mantle muscle meat from Japanese common squid Todarodes pacificus during air-drying

Mantle meat from the Japanese common squid (Todarodes pacificus) browns more than other squid meats during air-drying. The factors contributing to the browning of Japanese common squid, long-finned squid (Photololigo edulis) and bigfin reef squid (Sepioteuthis lessoniana) were studied in boiled and raw meat both before and after air-drying. Dried raw meat from the Japanese common squid browned more than dried boiled meat (b∗ value, from 4.7 to 28.5). The results from SDS–PAGE showed significant degradation of myosin heavy chain (MHC) suggesting that protease activity in raw Japanese common squid meat was higher than in the other two species. The concentration of arginine (1932.0 mg/100 g) and ribose (28.8 μmol/g) in Japanese common squid meat was higher than in the other two species. These results suggest that high protease activity and high concentrations of arginine and ribose increase the browning discoloration of Japanese common squid during air-drying.