Preliminary mechanism of acidic electrolyzed water ice on improving the quality and safety of shrimp

Preliminary mechanism of acidic electrolyzed water (AEW) ice on improving the quality and safety of shrimp was investigated by examining the physicochemical and microbiological changes, sarcoplasmic proteins and enzymatic activities. The results showed that compared with tap water (TW) ice, AEW ice had an obvious (p < 0.05) capability in limiting the changes of pH and shrinkage of muscle fibers in shrimp. Plate count enumeration and PCR–DGGE indicated that AEW greatly inhibited growth of bacteria on shrimp. Additionally, AEW ice had no adverse effects on sarcoplasmic proteins by SDS–PAGE method. And AEW ice displayed inhibitory activity (p < 0.05) toward cathepsin B and polyphenol oxidase (PPO), although it did not present positive effects on inhibiting cathepsin D, acid phosphatase and lipase activity. Thus, this study brought new evidence to further demonstrate that AEW ice can serve as a promising technology for improving the quality of aquatic products in food industry.