Recent advances of ultrasound-assisted technology on aquatic protein processing: Extraction, modification, and freezing/thawing-induced oxidation

Aquatic proteins (APs) are becoming innovative and fast-growing ingredients owing to their health benefits, unique flavor, and religious preferences over the terrestrial animal counterparts. However, their structural complexity and limited functionality have constrained their widespread use. Recently, ultrasound technology has garnered considerable interest in enhancing the APs applications. This review describes examples of ultrasound-assisted treatment for enhancing the APs extraction efficiency, discusses the relationship between protein structure and functionality, and outlines the positive effects on reducing protein oxidation in freeze/thaw. Additionally, the existing challenges and future trends of ultrasound applications have also been elucidated. Ultrasound can be used to extract proteins from different aquatic materials, with the merits of high extraction rate, chemical-free, and low energy consumption. Ultrasonication can increase the molecular flexibility and mobility of APs with a significant decrease in particle size and surface tension, which contributes to improving their functional and nutritional properties. Ultrasound cavitation provides excellent synergistic effects with other methods due to the partial unfolding of protein. Moreover, multi-frequency ultrasound is beneficial for reducing freezing and thawing-induced protein oxidation. This review provides a real-time reference for applying ultrasound to develop functional foods based on APs. •Structure-function relationship of aquatic proteins (APs) is discussed.•Ultrasound combined with other methods shows better modification effects.•Multi-frequency ultrasound strategy better reduces APs oxidative denaturation in freeze/thaw.•Ultrasound-assisted extraction enhances recovery and properties of APs.