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ARS Home » Southeast Area » New Orleans, Louisiana » Southern Regional Research Center » Food Processing and Sensory Quality Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #327896
Research Project: Improving the Product Value of Catfish

Location: Food Processing and Sensory Quality Research

Title: Effects of Vacuum Tumbling with Chitosan and Water Soluble Chitosan on the Shelf Life of Catfish Fillets in Refrigerated Storage

Author
item BONILLA, F. - Louisiana State University
item GALINDO, C. - Louisiana State University
item REYES, V. - Louisiana State University
item PARRAGA, K. - Louisiana State University
item Bechtel, Peter
item SATHIVEL, S. - Louisiana State University

Submitted to: Annual Meeting of the Institute of Food Technologists
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 3/19/2016
Publication Date: 7/17/2016
Citation: Bonilla, F., Galindo, C., Reyes, V., Parraga, K., Bechtel, P.J., Sathivel, S. 2016. Effects of Vacuum Tumbling with Chitosan and Water Soluble Chitosan on the Shelf Life of Catfish Fillets in Refrigerated Storage. Annual Meeting of the Institute of Food Technologists. http://ift.planion.com/Web.User/AbstractDet?ACCOUNT=IFT&ABSID=IFT&ABSID=14565&CONF=IFT16&ssoOverride.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Chitosan (CH) is mainly made from crustacean shells and has been reported to have a number of functional properties such as its antimicrobial activity, binding action, and antioxidant activity. CH’s water insolubility restricts the use of this compound in some systems. However, when treated with enzymes, a water soluble chitosan (WSC) is developed, which overcomes insolubility issues. The aim of this study was to evaluate the antioxidant activity and antimicrobial properties of CH and WSC on refrigerated catfish fillets. WSC was prepared from enzymatic hydrolysis using Chitonase (Streptomyces sp. N174) and the hydrolysates were separated using an ultrafiltration membrane with molecular weight cut-off of 10 kDa. Three solutions were prepared for this study: (1) a 1% acetic acid (AA) solution, (2) a 0.5% CH solution in the 1% AA solution, and (3) 0.5% WSC in distilled water (DW). DW was used as a control solution. Fresh Catfish fillets were separately tumbled with DW, AA, CH, and WSC solutions for 10 min in a vacuum tumbler and then the catfish fillets were stored in refrigerated conditions (4 °C) for 20 days. The fillets were analyzed for cutting force, color, pH, oxidation (thiobarbituric-acid-reactive-substances; TBARs), yeast and molds counts (YMC), and aerobic plate counts (APC). Sampling was done at 0, 5, 10, 15, and 20 days. Triplicate experiments were conducted and the data was statistically analyzed (a=0.05). Catfish fillets treated with WSC had the lowest lipid oxidation. CH had higher inhibition in APC than the other treatments, and WSC inhibited YMC more than the other treatments during the 20 days in refrigerated conditions. AA treatments had a more rapid decrease in hardness than WSC and DW. This study demonstrated that WSC, combined with vacuum tumbling, can be effective at reducing YMC and lipid oxidation in catfish fillets during refrigerated storage.