Spectroscopic studies on the effect of high pressure treatment on the soluble protein fraction of porcine longissimus dorsi

The effect of high pressure (HP) treatment (400 MPa, 10 min) of porcine longissimus dorsi was investigated using reflectance spectroscopy and by UV-vis and circular dichroism spectroscopy for the soluble protein fraction. The soluble protein content was expectedly lowered significantly by HP treatment, whereas the solid state fraction of the meat responded to HP by exhibition of characteristic spectral changes in the visible reflectance data with a temporal evolution over the course of 2 days. However, the soluble protein fraction did not exhibit the same altered spectral characteristics in the visible region as seen in the solid state following HP, and there were no indications of altered folding of the proteins that remain in solution.