Quantitative relationship between trimethylamine oxide aldolase activity and formaldehyde accumulation in white muscle from gadiform fish during frozen storage.

The accumulation of formaldehyde and the resulting deterioration of seafood products during frozen storage are primarily caused by the enzymatic activity of trimethylamine oxide aldolase (TMAOase). A screening of muscle samples from 24 species showed TMAOase activity in only the nine gadiform species that were analyzed. Enzyme activities in the major white muscle of gadiform fish showed large variations between species as well as between individuals. A frozen storage experiment showed a similarly large variation in the rate of formaldehyde accumulation, which could be accounted for by the endogenous white muscle in situ TMAOase activity. This TMAOase activity also correlated with the rate of insolubilization of otherwise high ionic strength soluble protein. A simple model describing the accumulation of free formaldehyde during frozen storage of gadiform fish is proposed. The model is based on a storage time-dependent decay of substrate-saturated white muscle TMAOase activity.

Role of acetate in production of an autoinducible class IIa bacteriocin in Carnobacterium piscicola A9b.

Carnobacterium piscicola strain A9b isolated from cold smoked salmon inhibits growth of the food-borne pathogen Listeria monocytogenes partly due to the production of a proteinaceous compound (L. Nilsson, L. Gram, and H. H. Huss. J. Food Prot. 62:336-342, 1999). The purpose of the present study was to purify the compound and describe factors affecting its production, with particular emphasis on food-relevant factors. Amino acid sequencing showed that the compound is a class IIa bacteriocin with an N-terminal amino acid sequence identical to that of carnobacteriocin B2. The production of the bacteriocin was autoinducible, and the threshold level for induction was 9.6 x 10(-10) M. We also report, for the first time, that acetate acts as an induction factor, with a threshold concentration of 0.3 to 12 mM. Acetate could not act as an inducer during the late exponential phase of C. piscicola A9b. The induction of bacteriocin production showed a dose-dependent relationship at acetate concentrations of up to 10 to 20 mM (depending on the growth medium) and at a concentration of 1.9 x 10(-8) M for the bacteriocin itself; a saturation level of bacteriocin specific activity was reached at these concentrations of induction factors. The combined use of both inducers did not enhance the saturation level of bacteriocin production compared to that seen with the use of each inducer alone. Increasing NaCl and glucose concentrations negatively influenced the efficiency of acetate as an induction factor. Based on the results, carnobacteriocin B2 was used as an induction factor to manipulate the production of bacteriocin in cold smoked salmon juice and thus improve the ability to inhibit L. monocytogenes.