Magnetic field-mediated heating: An effective approach for regulating the thermal aggregation behavior and gelation properties of low-salt myosin

Abstract

The study aimed to elucidate the underlying mechanism of magnetic field-mediated heating (MFMH) treatment on the thermal aggregation behavior of myosin under low-salt conditions. The dynamics of myosin aggregation and gelation properties formed at different heating temperatures were investigated under conditions with and without magnetic field treatment (3.8 mT). The results demonstrated that applying a magnetic field during heating notably decreased the turbidity of myosin, particularly at 60 °C, where it decreased from 0.66 to 0.58, exhibiting a noticeable delay in thermal aggregation. Meanwhile, magnetic field treatment (3.8 mT) led to a substantial reduction in myosin particle size, which promoted the subsequent formation of an ordered protein aggregation. Structural analysis indicated that the intervention of magnetic field facilitated the shift from α-helix to β-sheet, which enhanced the development of a well-organized gel network structure. PCA analysis results further validated this finding. Moreover, the surface hydrophobic characteristics of myosin were reduced (a substantial decline of 9.08 %), while disulfide bond was enhanced from 0.73 to 1.03 g/L (65 °C), promoting cross-linking in the head region of myosin. Intermolecular force results indicated that magnetic field mediation significantly enhanced ionic bonds while reducing hydrophobic interactions during the thermal aggregation of myosin. It can be seen that magnetic field can improve the gel properties of myosin by regulating its thermal aggregation process, and magnetic field treatment may be a potential physical method to improve the quality of low salt gel meat products.