Enhancement of nutritional value and storage stability of silver carp surimi incorporated with red seaweed (Gracilaria tenuistipitata) paste

Fish surimi, used in the formulation of various value-added fishery products requires substantial storage time for steady product development. Silver carp surimi was prepared with varying levels (1.5 %, 3.0 %, 4.5 %, 6 %; w/w) of red seaweed paste (SWP) to improve nutritional and storage attributes, assessing proximate composition, amino acids, minerals, sensory attributes, total volatile basic nitrogen (TVB-N), pH, and color. The protein content in surimi varied between 17.02 % and 21.95 % depending on the level of SWP addition. Among the identified amino acids, methionine was the most abundant essential amino acid (3015.03±45.25 to 4151.51±26.43 mg/100 g), followed by isoleucine, phenylalanine, lysine, and histidine, while glycine was the most prevalent non-essential amino acid (2382.46±42.31 to 3147.96±25.24 mg/100 g), followed by tyrosine, proline, serine, and aspartic acid. Calcium was the most predominant element, ranging from 51.41 to 57.91 mg/100 g. After 150 days of storage at 3 °C, surimi with 6.0 % SWP showed the lowest color value and surimi with 4.5 % SWP had an overall acceptability value of 4.0. The TVB-N value of the control sample exceeded 30 mg N/100 g of surimi after 90 days, while surimi with 4.5 % and 6 % SWP stayed within acceptable limits for up to 135 days. The pH of fish surimi decreased during storage, dropping faster to 6.40±0.04 in the control sample. The L* and a* color values decreased as the SWP concentration in the surimi increased, while the b* values increased with higher SWP concentrations. Therefore, incorporation of SWP at the optimum level has been shown to improve the nutritional, sensory, and storage properties of silver carp surimi.