Effects of the tea polyphenol content on the properties and structural characteristics of simulated meat
Ruisheng Jiang, Haiguan Wang, Shuang Su, Ruizhi Li, Ying Hu, Minpeng Zhu, Yumin Duan, Zhigang Xiao, Yuzhe Gao
Abstract
To expand the application of tea-enriching food, tea polyphenols (TP) were added at 0%, 2%, 4%, 6% and 8% to prepare simulated meat, and the apparent properties and structural characteristics of TP-simulated meat were studied. When the TP content was less than 2%, TP bound to the binding site of hydrogen bonding (U) on the protein molecular chain, which reduced the U of simulated meat and resulted in a decrease in the hardness of TP-simulated meat. When the TP content was greater than 2%, the binding of TP and U on the protein chain tended to be saturated, and U was generated on the new TP-protein chain, resulting in an increase in the hardness of TP-simulated meat. Additionally, with increasing TP content, the hydrophobic interaction of simulated meat was enhanced, and the content of random coils in the secondary structure was decreased, resulting in a decrease in the L* of color.