Effects of Combined Treatment of L-Lysine and Transglutaminase on Water-Holding Capacity and Texture Quality of Low-Salt Chicken Meat Batter

The effect of combined treatment of different mass fractions (0.25%, 0.5%, 0.75% and 1.0%) L-lysine and 0.5%transglutaminase (TGase) on the water-holding capacity (WHC), texture, water mobility and distribution, microstructure and protein conformation of low-salt chicken meat batter (LCMB) gels was studied. The results showed that TGase alone had no significant effect on the WHC (P > 0.05), but significantly increased the hardness of LCMB gels (P < 0.05). In the presence of TGase, the hardness, springiness, cohesiveness and chewiness of LCMB gels showed an increasing trend with increased content L-lysine. The results of low-field nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Raman spectroscopy indicated that L-lysine combined with TGase could increase the relative content of immobilized water (P₂₁) and decrease the relative content of free water (P₂₂) in LCMB gels, promote the formation of a three-dimensional ordered, compact and continuous gel network structure, and enhance the exposure of tryptophan, tyrosine and aliphatic amino acid residues in meat proteins. In conclusion, L-lysine combined with TGase treatment can improve the gel quality of LCMB by affecting its water distribution, microstructure and protein conformation.