{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,23]],"date-time":"2026-10-23T21:00:53Z","timestamp":1792789253327,"version":"4.5.0"},"reference-count":31,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"18","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,21]],"date-time":"2026-09-21T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1789948800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Science and Technology Innovation Special Fund Project of Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University","award":["108-KFB23129A"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["108-KFB23129A"]}],"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/04kx2sy84","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"crossref"}]},{"award":["108-KFB23129A"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["108-KFB23129A"]}],"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/04kx2sy84","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"name":"Fujian Province Natural Science Foundation","award":["2022J01147"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2022J01147"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Foods"],"abstract":"<jats:p>The poor gel-forming ability of myofibrillar proteins in hairtail (Trichiurus haumela) surimi limits its application in high-quality surimi products. This study investigated the effects of dried pumpkin powder (DPP) addition (0, 0.4%, 0.75%, 1.1%, 1.5%, and 1.85%, w\/w) on the gel properties, protein conformation, and microstructure of frozen hairtail surimi gels. The results revealed a nonlinear, dose-dependent effect on gel quality. At 1.1% addition, gel hardness and springiness reached maximum values of 313.69 \u00b1 2.54 g and 0.86 \u00b1 0.004, respectively, while water-holding capacity (WHC) significantly increased by 11.21% compared with the control (p &lt; 0.05). Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy demonstrated a marked reduction in \u03b1-helix content with a concomitant increase in random coil content, indicating changes in protein secondary structure that may favor interactions within the protein network. Scanning electron microscopy further revealed that moderate supplementation filled network voids and produced a denser, more homogeneous microstructure, whereas excessive addition (\u22651.5%) led to fiber aggregation and structural deterioration. Collectively, moderate pumpkin powder addition\u2014specifically at 1.1%\u2014improves hairtail surimi gel quality, and these improvements may be associated with changes in protein secondary structure and microstructural organization, offering a practical strategy for developing fiber-enriched surimi products.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/foods15183348","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,21]],"date-time":"2026-09-21T14:12:09Z","timestamp":1789999929000},"page":"3348","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Effects of Dried Pumpkin Powder on the Gel Properties and Protein Structural Characteristics of Trichiurus haumela Surimi"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"15","author":[{"given":"Fei","family":"Feng","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Culinary and Food Science Engineering, Sichuan Tourism University, Chengdu 610100, China"},{"name":"College of Food Science, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"conceptualization","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"methodology","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"writing-original-draft","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"validation","vocabulary":"credit"}]},{"given":"Shan","family":"Yu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Key Laboratory of Plant Resource Conservation and Germplasm Innovation in Mountainous Region (Ministry of Education), College of Life Science, Guizhou University, Guiyang 550025, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"writing-original-draft","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"investigation","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"validation","vocabulary":"credit"}]},{"given":"Yuchun","family":"Xu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Food Science, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"formal-analysis","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"investigation","vocabulary":"credit"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-7061-5233","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Jie","family":"Pang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Food Science, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"project-administration","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"funding-acquisition","vocabulary":"credit"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-1515-8295","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Chunhua","family":"Wu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Food Science, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"writing-review-editing","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"project-administration","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"funding-acquisition","vocabulary":"credit"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,21]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"148754","DOI":"10.1016\/j.foodchem.2026.148754","article-title":"Active chitosan\/alginate\/C-CNF absorbent pads with grapefruit essential oil microcapsules for hairtail (Trichiurus haumela) preservation","volume":"510","author":"Deng","year":"2026","journal-title":"Food Chem."},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"217","DOI":"10.1038\/s41538-026-00869-6","article-title":"Differential oxidation of surimi actomyosin by malondialdehyde and heme: Spectroscopy and molecular simulation","volume":"10","author":"Zhu","year":"2026","journal-title":"npj Sci. 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