The effect of ultrasound treatments on the tenderizing pathway of goose meat during conditioning.

In order to figure out the effect of ultrasound treatments (UT) on the tenderizing pathway of goose meat, breast muscles of 32 Eastern Zhejiang White Geese were treated with different ultrasound powers (the control, 300 and 600 W) at 40 kHz for 30 min. Shear force, cooking loss, myofibrillar fraction index (MFI), particle size, morphological analysis of actin filaments and the levels of F-actin and G-actin were investigated during 168 h storage. Results showed that 600 W group had the lowest shear force and cooking loss at 24, 48, 96 and 168 h among treatments, while 300 W UT decreased shear force and cooking loss compared to the control. UT increased MFI and induced myofibrillar small particles (D3,2) by disrupting actin filaments for myofibril and transforming of F-actin to G-actin compared to the control. We concluded that UT tenderized goose meat by fragmenting actin filaments and myofibrillar fraction.