Processed meats are heterogeneous systems composed of muscle itself and various nonmuscle ingredients including polysaccharides, flavor agents, salt, and phosphates. It is well established that proteins are largely responsible for the functional characteristics of muscle foods.
The most obvious structures within the muscle fiber are the myofibrils which are the units responsible for contraction and relaxation of the fiber.
The myofibrils contain 2 kinds of protein filaments:
a. Thick filaments –composed of myosin.
b. Thin filaments –composed of Actin, troponin and tropomyosin .
Myosin comprises about 45% of muscle protein. The founding members of the myosin superfamily are class 2 or conventional myosins. In mammals, there are 15 genes encoding myosin-2 heavy chains (MHC-2). They are among the most abundant proteins, as they constitute the primary contractile element in the sarcomeres of skeletal, smooth, and cardiac muscles.
Myosin-2 is formed of six polypeptide chains, two MHC-2, and two pairs of distinct light chains (LC). The architecture of this hexamer is highly asymmetric. Each MHC-2 consists of an N-terminal head region, which is the common element found in all members of the myosin family.
Myosin
