Hydrogen-incorporated reducing atmosphere packaging: effects on protein degradation and microbial diversity of...

Modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) is a widely used technique for preserving aquatic products, but research on the application of hydrogen (H₂) in seafood preservation remains limited. This study evaluated the effects of two MAP (MAP1: 50% carbon dioxide (CO₂)/50% N₂; MAP2: 75% CO₂ /25% N₂) and two H₂- reducing atmosphere packaging (RAP, H₂-RAP1: 0.5% H₂ /50% CO₂ /49.5% N₂; H₂-RAP2: 0.5% H₂ /75% CO₂ /24.5% N₂) on protein degradation and microbial communities in Litopenaeus vannamei stored 4 °C. Protein degradation was assessed by trichloroacetic acid (TCA)-soluble peptides, myofibrillar protein (MP), free amino acids (FAA), and biogenic amines (BA), while microbial dynamics were analyzed using total viable count (TVC) and 16S rRNA high-throughput sequencing. Results showed that the H₂-RAP2 group exhibited the best preservation effect. After 12 d, MP content in the H₂-RAP2 group remained at 63.23 mg/g, significantly higher than in the other groups. The H₂-RAP2 group also effectively delayed the accumulation of TCA-soluble peptides, FAA, and BA (mainly histamine, putrescine, tyramine, and cadaverine), while markedly suppressing TVC growth (5.91 log CFU/g). This study confirms the synergistic preservation effect of H₂ and CO₂, supporting the application of H₂-RAP preservation of Litopenaeus vannamei and other aquatic products.