Abstract
•The stability of myofibrillar protein (MP) solution is affected by many factors.•The aggregation effect of MP is greater than the net charge effect in a strong oxidation.•Excessive oxidation resulted in the decrease of MP isoelectric point.•Excessive oxidation caused serious modification in some basic amino acid.
The effects of oxidation degree on the isoelectric point (pI), aggregation, and structural characteristics for pork myofibrillar protein (MP) were studied by employing extracted MP, which was incubated by using a hydroxyl radical oxidation system. The concentrations of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) were 0, 0.5, 1, 3, 5, 10, and 20 mM. With the increased oxidation degree, the contents of α-helix, ionic bonds, and hydrogen bonds decreased significantly (P < 0.05). Moreover, the pI value and total amino acids showed a declining trend, and the β-sheet as well as solubility rised firstly and then declined. On the contrary, random curl, β-turn, and turbidity increased significantly (P < 0.05). Therefore, amino acid side chain groups were modified, and the opposite effect, caused by oxidation that leads to protein cross-linking and aggregation, was greater than the promotion effect, such as net negative charge, these are the main factors that leads to the instability of protein solution systems.