Department of Aquaculture, Faculty of Agriculture, Kochi University, Nankoku, Kochi 783-8502, Japan
Washing procedures of shortfin lizardfish meat are unable to remove the proteolytic activity degrading myosin heavy chain during the preheating process of salted meat paste. NaCl promoted the activity, and sugars and a rice wine did not affect it at all. With duration especially at 40°C, decrease in the gel strength was accompanied by a remarkable degradation of myosin heavy chain. It was therefore suggested that myosin heavy chain in the salted meat paste of shortfin lizardfish was susceptible to proteolysis during the processing of kamaboko resulting in the weakening of the gel.