Muscle proteins

Proteins within the muscle matrix play an essential role in the quality attributes of cooked meat, such as tenderness, juiciness, and mouthfeel. In processed meats, salt- and phosphate-extracted myofibrillar proteins, which are superior gelling, fat-emulsifying, and water-binding agents, are largely responsible for the product textural properties. A single most important functional protein is myosin. For intact muscle cuts, the enhanced meat tenderness during postmortem aging is due to the proteolytic actions of various endogenous proteases. Apart from their in situ functionality, muscle proteins, including fish surimi, collagen, plasma protein, and other meat by-product proteins, have been prepared and utilized as functional food ingredients.