Gelation properties of myofibrillar/pea protein mixtures induced by transglutaminase crosslinking

Gelation properties of mixtures of myofibrillar protein isolate (MPI)/pea protein isolate (PPI) were studied using a dynamic oscillatory rheometer and a texture analyzer to evaluate PPI as a possible meat product additive. The inclusion of microbial transglutaminase (MTG) increased the gel strength of MPI/PPI mixture (3% + 1%) more than it did for MPI (3%), but less than a 3% MPI, 1% soy protein isolate combination. The direct evidence of interaction between muscle and pea proteins in the form of new sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) bands was not found; however, the improvement in gel strength or gel peak force for the MPI/PPI mixture (3% + 1%) with inclusion of MTG suggested that some ɛ (γ-glutamyl) lysine (G-L) crosslinking occurred between muscle and pea proteins. It likely that pea protein acted as a non-gelling component and interspersed throughout the primary MPI gel network and the addition of MTG promoted partial crosslinking of MPI. Consequently, MTG is useful in improving gelation properties of heat-induced MPI/PPI gel.