Abstract
In this paper, non-enzymatic browning reactions as a factor of self stability of boiled and dried anchovy were studied to discuss the effect of water activity to the discoloring reaction and the preservative moisture content. The development of rancidity of the fish meat was also mentioned since the fish is fatty and the lipid oxidation is a functional deteriorative reaction. Fresh anchovies were boiled in $10\%$ salt solution immediately after the catch, sun dried, and stored at room temperature ($20^{\circ}C$) for two months in humidistat chambers maintaining different levels of water activity as described in Table 1. The pigments formed by non-enzymatic browning reations were extracted in two fractions, those were chloroform-methanol soluble and water dialyzed fraction, and analyzed spectrophotometrically at the wavelength of 460 nm. These two fractions were considered, respectively to be the brown pigments formed by lipid oxidation reactions for the formler and for the latter, to be the pigments developed by sugar-amino or Maillard reaction. The oxidation of lipid in anchovy meat during the storage was measured as the changes in Peroxide value and the color development of thiobarbituric acid reaction. It is summarized from the results that the rate of both reactions, lipid oxidation and browning, was affected by water activity levels. In regard to the changes in peroxide and TBA value during the storage, the propagation of lipid oxidation was obviously accelerated at lower humidities whereas the development of browning progressed at the higher. These two reactions occurring simultaneously and contrary in activity resulted in that the rate of deterioration occurring oxidatively or by browning, was the minimum at the water activity of 0.32-0.45 which were $7-9\%$ as moisture content and slightly higher value than that of monolayer (Aw=0.21, $5.11\%$ as moisture content). It is also noted that the lipid oxidative browning was presumed to dominate sugar-amino reactions so that the rate of browning of the meat was ultimately depended on the development of rancidity although sugar-amino reactions initiated earlier than the other at the first ten days of storage, particulary at higher humidity. At the lower humidity sugar-amino reactions were occurred gradually but lower levels in color development in contrast to the consistent increase in lipid oxidative browning.