LAUSR

BACKGROUND Maillard reaction is a promising and safe method to obtain Chitooligosaccharides conjugates with proteins / peptides as a food preservative. This study aims to investigate the moisture state, physicochemical properties and shelf-life of sea bass fillets treated with ε-polylysine (ε-PL) and chitooligosaccharides (COS) Maillard reaction products (LC-MRPs) during refrigerated storage. RESULTS The results of microbiological analysis and confocal laser scanning microscope (CLSM) revealed that LC-MRPs could effectively retard the microbial growth. Compared with control, ε-PL and COS group, LC-MRPs group could greatly retard the rise of thiobarbituric acid (TBA) value, K-value and total volatile basic nitrogen (TVB-N) value, and also inhibited the softening of texture and the accumulation of biogenic amines in fish. From the results of low-field nuclear magnetic resonance (LF-NMR) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), LC-MRPs could delay water migration of fillets and presented higher water holding capacity (WHC). Through sensory evaluation, the application of LC-MRPs increased the shelf-life of refrigerated sea bass fillets for another 9 days. CONCLUSION Maillard reaction products derived from chitooligosaccharides and ε-polylysine have a great potential for the preservation of sea bass. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.