Deterioration mechanism of minced mutton induced by Fenton oxidation treatment

This study aims to investigate the effects of protein oxidation on the quality characteristics of minced mutton oxidized at 1, 3 and 5 h in Fenton oxidation system. The results showed that with the extension of oxidation time, the cooking loss, freeze-thaw loss and pH value of the minced mutton significantly increased, while the emulsification performance decreased. Compared with the control group, the peak area of immobilized water (T22) and free water (T23) in the oxidation treatment group gradually decreased. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) showed that the hole number of the minced mutton increased and the surface became uneven with the extension of oxidation time. The solubility of salt-soluble proteins showed a decreasing trend with the extension of the oxidation time. Compared with the control, the secondary structure of the protein in the oxidized samples were destroyed. As the oxidation time increased, the α-helix content of minced mutton protein significantly reduced, while the percentage of random coils significantly increased. These results indicated that minced mutton protein had undergone significant oxidation in the Fenton oxidation system, resulting in the changes of quality and structure.