Exploring the Potential of Water-Soluble Squid Ink Melanin: Stability, Free Radical Scavenging, and Cd2+ Adsorption Abilities

• Published in: Foods Vol. 12; no. 21; p. 3963
• Main Authors: Liu, Shuji, Liu, Xianwei, Zhang, Xueqin, Su, Yongchang, Chen, Xiao’e, Cai, Shuilin, Liao, Dengyuan, Pan, Nan, Su, Jie, Chen, Xiaoting, Xiao, Meitian, Liu, Zhiyu
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Basel MDPI AG 30.10.2023
• Subjects: Acidity; adsorbents; Adsorption; adsorption of Cd2; Aluminum; antioxidant activity; Antioxidants; Benzoic acid; Biopolymers; byproducts; Cadmium; Chloride; Copper; Desalination; Food; food colorants; Food dyes; Food industry; Free radicals; Heavy metals; High temperature; Hydrochloric acid; Hydrogen peroxide; Hydroxyl radicals; Infrared analysis; Infrared spectroscopy; Melanin; Metabolism; Metal ions; Natural & organic foods; Oxidizing agents; Particle size; Potassium sorbate; Radiation; Reagents; Reducing agents; Roughening; Scavenging; scavenging free radicals; Sodium; Sodium benzoate; Sodium salts; Sodium sulfite; Squid; Stability; Structural damage; Sucrose; Sulfite; superoxide anion; Superoxide anions; temperature; Water chemistry; water solubility; water-soluble squid ink melanin; Beijing China; United States > US; China
• ISSN: 2304-8158; 2304-8158
• DOI: 10.3390/foods12213963

Squid ink melanin can be efficiently extracted from the byproduct ink sac generated during squid processing. As a natural food colorant, it possesses inherent antioxidant properties and the capability to adsorb heavy metals. This study aims to investigate the solubility of water-soluble squid ink melanin (WSSM) obtained from the ink sac, as well as its stability under various conditions including temperature, pH, salt, sugar, potassium sorbate, metal ions, sodium benzoate, sodium sulfite (reducing agent), and hydrogen peroxide (oxidizing agent). Moreover, it explores the scavenging effects of WSSM on free radicals and cadmium ions. The findings suggest that WSSM’s stability is insignificantly affected by high temperature, sucrose, and salt. However, acidity, sodium benzoate, potassium sorbate, sodium sulfite (Na2SO3), and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) significantly influence its stability. Most metal ions do not impact the stability of WSSM, except for Fe2+, Fe3+, Al3+, and Cu2+, which result in the precipitation of WSSM. Additionally, WSSM exhibits remarkable antioxidant activity with IC50 values of 0.91, 0.56, and 0.52 mg/mL for scavenging superoxide anion radicals (O2−·), hydroxyl radicals (·OH), and DPPH radicals, respectively. It also demonstrates the ability to adsorb the heavy metal Cd2+, with the adsorption rate gradually increasing with a higher temperature and larger amounts of WSSM added. Infrared spectroscopy analysis reveals the weakening of characteristic peaks (-COOH and -OH) during the process of Cd2+ adsorption by WSSM, while SEM confirms surface roughening and structural damage after Cd2+ adsorption. This study provides valuable insights for the utilization of squid melanin products as natural antioxidants and heavy metal adsorbents in the food industry.