Effects of Mungbean Flour Level in Combination with Microbial Transglutaminase on Physicochemical and Textural Properties of Low-salt Pork Model Sausages

This study was performed to evaluate the effects of various levels of mungbean flour (MF) (0-2.4%) on the quality characteristics of pork model sausages (PMS) in experiment 1 and also select the optimum level of MF to enhance the water retention and gelling properties of low-salt PMS (LSPMS) with or without microbial transglutaminase (MTGase) in experiment 2. In experiment 1, the addition of MF did not affect pH, chemical compositions (fat and moisture contents), color values, and functional properties (expressible moisture, EM (%) and cooking yield, CY (%)) of PMS. However, the addition of MF increased the chewiness of PMS and hardness if the mungbean flour at the level of more than 1.2% was incorporated. Since the interaction between the microbial transglutaminase (MTGase) treatment and MF level was not significant (p>0.05), data were pooled by different factors (MTGase treatment and MF level) in experiment 2. MF improved the water binding ability and textural springiness of LSPMS. On the other hand, MTGase treatment decreased the pH and cooking yield (%) of LSPMS, but increased most textural properties. In conclusion, the addition of MF could enhance the water retention and textural properties of PMS and LSPMS, regardless of MTGase, when it was added to over 1.2%. Based on these results, mungbean protein may interact with MTGase on the low-salt comminuted meat systems. Therefore, further study might be needed to understand the mechanisms of interaction between MTGase and functional components induced from MF.