Protein properties of mackerel viscera extracted by supercritical carbon dioxide

The extraction of mackerel viscera using supercritical carbon dioxide (SCO2) was performed under the conditions of temperature range from 35 to 45 degrees C, and constant pressure 25 MPa. The digestive enzyme activities were determined in comparison of untreated and treated SCO2 and solvent treatment. Activities were maintained with high level compared to that of solvent extraction. Also from result of SDS-PAGE, the protein denaturation was minimized when using SCO2 extraction. The major amino acids in the mackerel viscera were determined as glutamic acid, aspartic acid, glycine, leucine, lysine and the free amino acids were taurine, L-alanine, L-leucine, 1-methyl-L-histamine, 3-methyl-L-histidine.