Effect of composite cultivation on the meat quality of crucian carp (<italic>Carassius auratus</italic>)

To study the effect of 3-aminobenzoic acid ethyl ester methanesulfonate (MS-222)–assisted deep dormancy temperature (DDT) cultivation on the meat quality of crucian carp (<italic>Carassius auratus</italic>), crucian carp was treated with MS-222 and then cultivated at DDT. The research studied the lactic acid content, pH, water retention rate, cooking loss rate, color, texture, nucleotide content, and sensory score of the crucian carp meat and the serum glucose and residual MS-222 contents in the crucian carp bodies. The results indicated that the required concentration of MS-222 for the anesthetization of crucian carp was 40 mg/L. The serum glucose and lactic acid contents and the cooking loss rate of crucian carp meat increased from 0 to 10 days, whereas the pH and water holding capacity of the crucian carp decreased from 0 to 10 days; all indexes of the crucian carp treated with MS-222 were higher than those of the control from 2 to 10 days. The texture profile, color, and nucleotide content of the crucian carp meat decreased from 0 to 10 days; however, the decline rate of the MS-222-treated group was slower than that of the control. The metabolism results indicated that MS-222 was metabolized into 0 mg/g on the 5th day. These results demonstrated that MS-222-assisted DDT cultivation was superior to the control for the cultivation of crucian carp. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]