Identifying rosmarinic acid as a color stabilizer for tuna meat based on virtual screening and in vitro evaluation

This paper aims to identify the potential of natural polyphenolic compounds as color stabilizers for tuna meat through virtual screening and in vitro study. A virtual screening database was constructed to identify polyphenols with high binding affinity to myoglobin (Mb), and the interaction mechanism between polyphenols and Mb was also studied. The results demonstrated that tuna meat treated with rosmarinic acid (RA), which exhibits strong binding force to Mb, showed a significantly higher a*/b* value of 0.82 (CK: 0.19) and a lower metmyoglobin (MetMb) content of 50.53 % (CK: 72.16 %) at 4 °C for 8 days. The MetMb reductase activity of RA treatment decreased from 138.47 U/mL on day 0 to 106.51 U/mL on day 8. After RA interacts with Mb, it can stabilize the structure of Mb, alter the amino acid microenvironment, further promote MetMb reduction, and inhibit oxymyoglobin (OxyMb) oxidation.