Applications of high pressure to pre-rigor rabbit muscles affect the water characteristics of myosin gels

- High pressure processing of pre-rigor muscles modified myosin physicochemical traits.
- Myosin extracted from high-pressure treated muscles had different gelation behaviors.
- Denaturation rate of myosin during heating was crucial for water-holding capacity.
- Moderate high-pressure treatments of pre-rigor muscle favored gelation of myosin.

Myosin was extracted immediately after high-pressure treatment (HP, 100-300 MPa for 15 or 180 s) to pre-rigor rabbit muscles (PRRMs) for evaluating the influences of HP-treatment on gel properties, using untreated muscles as Controls. Assessment of myosin yields, water-holding capacity (WHC), water mobility and distribution demonstrated that HP modified myosin before its extraction. Myosin gels subjected to HP at 100 MPa 180 s and 200 MPa 15 s had enhanced WHC compared with Controls. Also, the highest proportion of immobile-water was observed in myosin gels treated at 200 MPa for 15 s. HP-treatment of PRRMs affected their physicochemical properties as evidenced by alterations in tertiary, secondary conformations and rheological properties during subsequent heating. These modifications appear to induce various degrees of exposure of hydrophobic and sulfhydryl groups, resulting in different gelation rates. These alterations partly explain the various gel qualities obtained and indicate the potential of HP for pre-rigor muscles.