Optimization of the Ultrasonic-papain Combined Tenderization Process for Camel Meat and Its Impact on Quality Attributes

Camel meat serves as an excellent source of high-quality protein for human consumption. However, its relatively high connective tissue content renders the meat tough and challenging to chew, diminishing consumer acceptance. This study investigated the effects of ultrasonic and papain treatment on enhancing the tenderness and overall quality of camel meat. Univariate experiments were conducted to evaluate ultrasonic time, ultrasonic power, and papain concentration, and the response surface methodology (RSM) was employed to screen for the optimal tenderization process. Furthermore, the synergistic effect of ultrasonic treatment combined with papain on camel meat quality was analyzed in this paper. The findings demonstrated that tenderness of camel meat was significantly improved (PL*) in the co-treatment group were significantly reduced (PPα-helix content of myofibrillar proteins decreased from 46.21% to 29.40%, while the β-turn content decreased from 25.11% to 13.08%. Conversely, the contents of β-sheet and random coils increased.