Effect of tea polyphenols on sturgeon myofibrillar protein structure in the in vitro anti-glycation model mediated by low temperature vacuum heating

[Display omitted] •The intermolecular forces of tea polyphenols-SMP were changed during LTVH treatment.•The benzene ring and phenolic hydroxyl of tea polyphenols interacted with the SMP.•The reaction of SMP and tea polyphenols was exothermic.•Tea polyphenols could bind to the site 1 of SMP. The binding mechanism between tea polyphenols and sturgeon myofibrillar protein (SMP) in the early stage (0, 2, 4 min), middle stage (6, 10 min) and late stage (15 min) of low temperature vacuum heating (LTVH) in an in vitro anti-glycation model was investigated. The result indicated that the protein cross-linking during LTVH treatment were mainly induced by tea polyphenols. The loss rate of free arginine (Arg) and free lysine (Lys) of SMP at the late stage of LTVH treatment (15 min) was 73.95 % and 83.16 %, respectively. The hydrophobic force and disulfide bond were the main force between tea polyphenols and SMP in the middle and late stage of LTVH treatment. The benzene ring and phenolic hydroxyl group of tea polyphenols can interact with the amino acid residues of SMP, which was exothermic and entropy-increasing. This study provides new insights in the interaction mechanisms between tea polyphenols-protein during heat treatment process.