Long period preservation of marine products using electrostatic field

The effect of an AC electric field on the freshness of marine products was experimentally investigated. An AC voltage of 10 kV with 50 Hz in frequency was generated with a transformer and applied to a plane electrode set in an incubator. The biological material was the gonad of purple sea urchin. The AC electric field with 50 Hz in frequency was applied to the gonad at -1 °C for 7 days. Freshness was evaluated by measuring protein release and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) activity. The results showed that the protein release and LDH activity in the gonad were suppressed by applying the AC electric field, compared with that without the AC electric field. Moreover, the gonad was treated with the AC electric field at -5 °C for 3 days and then preserved at 0 °C for 1 day without the field. This electrical field treatment of the gonad prolonged the freshness date for more than 10 days under 4 °C preservation condition. In addition, the permeability of the cell membrane was suppressed by applying the AC electric field. Concerning the relationship between permeability and AC electric field, the conformational change of bovine serum albumin (BSA) induced by the AC electric field was evaluated on the basis of UV absorption spectra. The results revealed that the secondary and/or higher-order structure gradually changes with preservation period. The conformational change of the BSA molecule was induced by applying the AC electric field.