Effects of chitosan on the gelling properties of silver carp surimi

Chitosan was applied to surimi-based products prepared from silver carp and the effects of chitosan with different degrees of deacetylation(DD),molecular weights(M_W) and adding amounts on the gelling properties of surimi-based products were investigated. The gel strength,texture profile analysis(TPA),water loss rate and color were used as assay indicators. Also,the microstructure of the gels was analyzed with scanning electron microscopy. The results showed that addition of chitosan with 64% DD resulted in significant increases in both texture properties and water-binding capacity. The gel strength increased approximately by 34% and water loss rate decreased by 29.1%. Chitosan with different M_W had no significant effects on the gel strength. The gelling properties of surimi-based products increased proportionally to the amount of chitosan added up to 1% (P0.05). Samples added with 1.0% chitosan had similar gel strength with samples added with 4.0%starch. Scanning electron microscopy indicated that chitosan could facilitate surimi-based products forming gel network. The above results showed that chitosan was a good quality-enhancing agent for surimi-based products,which could be used in practical applications.