Enhancing garlic-clove shaped gel properties of mandarin fish (Siniperca chuatsi) myofibrillar protein with prickly ash extracts: Underlying roles of polyphenols.

The potential role of prickly ash extracts (PAEs) in enhancing garlic-clove shaped protein gel (GSPG)-forming capacity of mandarin fish (Siniperca chuatsi) myofibrillar protein (MP) was studied. PAEs with 0%, 20%, 60%, and 100% ethanol were utilized to systematically analyze changes in the physicochemical properties, water retention, chemical forces, and protein structure of GSPG. Results demonstrated that PAE60 (38.09 mg gallic acid equivalent/g) significantly improved gel strength and water-holding capacity compared to the control (P < 0.05). The immobilized water (23.04% decrease of relaxation time), hydrogen bonds (56.74% increase), disulfide bonds (174.31% increase), and β-sheet (49.42% increase) became significantly better than the control (P < 0.05). The gel microstructure had more orderly and compact networks with relatively increases of fractal dimension (1.83%), porosity (22.32%), and number of pores (23.66%) with statistical significances (P < 0.05). The findings could lay a theoretical groundwork for improving garlic-clove shaped fish protein with plant polyphenols.