title: Protein modifications in cooked pork products investigated by a proteomic approach.
abstract: To evaluate process-induced protein modifications in cooked ham and emulsion sausages, the proteomes of whole-cut (Parma and "Praga" cooked hams) and comminuted pork (mortadella and würstel) products were compared to raw pork using two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2-DE) coupled to image analysis and mass spectrometry (MS). Other than heat-induced breakdown of part of the myosin heavy chains, the 2-DE pattern of cooked ham was substantially similar to that of raw pork. However, the MS-based analysis showed minor modifications, including the extensive oxidation of methionines. In contrast, likely due to emulsification, comminuted sausages were characterized by an abundant insoluble protein fraction (IPF). Interestingly, tropomyosin and myosin light chains in comminuted sausages were exclusively found in the IPF. Our results indicate that the protein aggregation systems of cooked hams and emulsion sausages reflect the processing conditions and are definitely different, the former being characterized mainly by disulphide bridges and the latter by additional covalent inter-protein links.
authors.affiliation: Department of Sciences of Agricultural, Food and Environmental, University of Foggia, Via Napoli, 25, 71122 Foggia, Italy. Electronic address: aldo.diluccia@unifg.it.
authors.forename: Aldo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Di Luccia
authors.affiliation: Department of Sciences of Agricultural, Food and Environmental, University of Foggia, Via Napoli, 25, 71122 Foggia, Italy.
authors.forename: Barbara
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: la Gatta
authors.affiliation: Department of Sciences of Agricultural, Food and Environmental, University of Foggia, Via Napoli, 25, 71122 Foggia, Italy.
authors.forename: Annarita
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Nicastro
authors.affiliation: Department of Sciences of Agricultural, Food and Environmental, University of Foggia, Via Napoli, 25, 71122 Foggia, Italy.
authors.forename: Giovanni
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Petrella
authors.affiliation: Department of Sciences of Agricultural, Food and Environmental, University of Foggia, Via Napoli, 25, 71122 Foggia, Italy.
authors.forename: Carmela
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Lamacchia
authors.affiliation: Institute of Food Sciences - National Research Council, Via Roma, 64, 83100 Avellino, Italy.
authors.forename: Gianluca
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Picariello
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003296:Cooking / Q000379:methods*; D004044:Dietary Proteins / Q000032:analysis*; D015180:Electrophoresis, Gel, Two-Dimensional; D004591:Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D008461:Meat Products / Q000032:analysis*; D009218:Myosins / Q000378:metabolism; D020543:Proteome / Q000378:metabolism; D040901:Proteomics / Q000379:methods*; D019032:Spectrometry, Mass, Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption-Ionization; D013552:Swine; D014335:Tropomyosin / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D004044:Dietary Proteins; D020543:Proteome; D014335:Tropomyosin; D009218:Myosins
keywords: Cooked hams; Emulsion sausages; Heat treatments; Muscle protein oxidation; Proteomics