Muscle tissue structural changes in bombay-duck (Harpodon nehereus) induced by formaldehyde solution during post-mortem storage

Abstract

Formaldehyde is a harmful compound that is usually used as an illegal preservative agent in fisheries products to prevent spoilage and extend shelf life. In several fishery products, formaldehyde can be formed endogenously during the post mortem process through degradation of trimethylamine oxide (TMAO) by enzymatic process. Exogenous and endogenous formaldehyde can affect the textural and structural change in fish muscle tissue significantly influencing flesh quality. This study was aimed to characterize the structural change of the muscle tissue in Bombay duck (Harpodon nehereus) that is immersed with formaldehyde solution on chilling storage temperature. The Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) analysis was used to identify and characterize the structural change in muscle tissue samples, which were immersed with formaldehyde solution 0%, 1%, 3%, and 5%. SEM analysis identified that in transversal section samples immersed with formaldehyde solution 0% (control) intermyofibrillar space was increased significantly during post mortem storage. This was in line with the increased of myofibril, connective tissue and sarcolemma lost on samples. Furthermore, on samples that were immersed with formaldehyde solution 1%,3%, and 5% the degradation of myofibril and intermyofibrillar was can be held and the connectivity tissue muscle still showed strong aggregation during post mortem storage.