Proteolytic enzymes for improving the properties of meat products from non-traditional raw materials

In this scientific article the influence of enzymatic treatment on the quality of meat products from nontraditional raw materials (camelina, horse meat, mutton, beef) was studied. Bromelain (0.5-0.2%), papain (0.1-0.3%) and ficin (0.1-0.5%) as well as their combination were used as enzymes. To improve functional and technological characteristics, a multicomponent brine containing plant components (sea buckthorn powder, pumpkin powder and goji berry extract, rosemary extract), plant enzymes, phosphates and protein hydrolysates were used. The results showed that the use of enzymes contributed to the softening of the meat structure, improving the juiciness and tenderness of the product. The most pronounced effect was observed in samples treated with papain, while ficin had the greatest effect on mutton and beef. The study of pH dynamics showed that without enzyme treatment, pH increased to 6.67 after 5 days, indicating initial signs of spoilage. At the same time, the combined application of enzymes kept the pH at a stable level (6.20), which helped to extend the shelf life of the product. Thus, the use of proteolytic enzymes in combination with multicomponent brine improves the texture, organoleptic characteristics and functional and technological properties of meat products, which can be recommended for industrial production.

1. Kozhahieva M.O. Sovershenstvovanie tekhnologii nacional'nyh produktov iz koniny i baraniny: diss. dok. fil. (PhD) [Improvement of technology of national products from horse meat and mutton: dissertation. (PhD)]: 6D072700. – Almaty: Almatinskij tekhnologicheskij universitet, 2018. – 139 s. (In Russian)

2. Voloshchenko L.V. Vliyanie fermentnyh preparatov na organolepticheskie i funkcional'notekhnologicheskie svojstva myasa [Effect of enzyme preparations on organoleptic and functionaltechnological properties of meat]/ Mezhdunarodnyj nauchno-issledovatel'skij zhurnal. - 2015. - №3 (34). - URL: https://research-journal.org/archive/3-34-2015-april/vliyanie-fermentnyx-preparatov-naorganolepticheskie-i-funkcionalno-texnologicheskiesvojstva-myasa (data obrashcheniya: 25.02.2025). (In Russian)

3. Antipova L.V. Vliyanie fermentativnoj obrabotki na gistostrukturu i svojstva koniny [Effect of enzymatic treatment on histostructure and properties of horse meat] / L.V. Antipova, L.A. Zubairova, O.S. Pershina, S.M. Sulejmanov. Myasnaya industriya. – 2005. - №1 (12). S. 19-21. (In Russian)

4. Marina Holyavka, Dzhigangir Faizullin, Vict oria Koroleva et al. Novel biotechnological formulations of cysteine proteases, immobilized on chitosan. Structure, stability and activity [International Journal of Biological Macromolecules]. – 2021. – V. 180. PP. 161-176 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2021.03.016

5. Fayaz H., Ahmad SR, Qureshi AI, Hussain SA, NazirT. (2024). Use of Plant Proteolytic Enzymes for Meat Processing. В: Rather, SA, Masoodi, FA (ред.) Han d Book of Processed Functional Meat Products. [Springer, Cham]. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-69868-2_13

6. Ahmad I.Z., Tabassum H., Ahmad A., Kuddus M. (2018). Food Enzymes in Pharmaceutical Industry: Perspectives and Limitations. In: Kuddus, M. (eds) Enzymes in Food Technology. [Springer, Singapore]. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-1933-4_3

7. Annapure U.S., Rout S., Srivastav P.P. (2022). Applications of Enzymes in Food Industries as Additives. In: Nadda, A.K., Goel, G. (eds) Microbes for Natural Food Additives. Microorganisms for Sustainability, vol 38. [Springer, Singapore]. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-5711-6_2

8. Yi Zhang, Shudong He, Benjamin K Simpson. Enzymes in food bioprocessing — novel food enzymes, applications, and related techniques [Current Opinion in Food Science]. – 2018. – V. 19. - №2. – PP. 30-35. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cofs.2017.12.007

9. Alaa Kareem Niamah, Shayma Thyab Gddoa Al-Sahlany, Deepak K. Verma, Smita Singh, Soubhagya Tripathy, Mamta T hakur et al. Chapter 2 - Enzymes for meat and meat processing industry: current trends, technological development, and future prospects / Foundations and Frontiers of Biocatalysis Series]. 2024, Pages 23-36. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-323-95996-4.00002-2

10. Nath, P.C., Panda, J., Devi, L.S., Mohanta, Y.K., Shamim, M.Z., Nayak, P.K. (2025). Enzymes and Biotechnology in Food Processing. In: Chandra Deka, S., Nickhil, C., Haghi, A.K. (eds) Engineering Solutions for Sustainable Food and Dairy Production. Food Engineering Series. [Springer, Cham]. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-75834-8_13

11. Semenova A.A., Kuznecova T.G., Seliverstova O.A., Salikova M.N., Spirina M.E., Buhteeva YU.M. Uluchshenie funkcional'no-tekhnologicheskih svojstv svinogo farsha s ispol'zovaniem proteoliticheskogo fermenta [Improvement of functional and technological properties of minced pork using proteolytic enzyme] Teoriya i praktika pererabotki. (In Russian) https://doi.org/10.21323/2414-438X-2024-9-3-212- 219№№

12. Jesús Fernández-Lucas, Daniel Castañeda, Daniel Hormigo. New trends for a classical enzyme: Papain, a biotechnological success story in the food industry [Trends in Food Science & Technology]. – 2017. – V. 68, – PP. 91-101. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tifs.2017.08.017

13. Chen, Yumeng Wang, Xiangning Wu et al. A novel strategy for using ficin enzyme from fig leaves to extract collagen from tannery-trimming wastes [International Journal of Biological Macromolecules]. – 2025 – V. 305, Part 2, May 2025, 141183. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2025.141183

14. Heba S. Abdel-Naeem, Hussein M.H. Mohamed. Improving the physico-chemical and sensory characteristics of camel meat burger patties using ginger extract and papain [Meat Science]. – 2016. – V. 118. – PP. 52-60. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.meatsci.2016.03.021

15. Uzakov Y.M., Kaldarbekova M.A. et al. Improved technology for new-generation Kazakh national meat products [Foods and Raw Materials]. – 2020. – V. 8. - № 1. – PP. 76–83. http://doi.org/10.21603/2308-4057-2020-1-76-83.