Title: Effects of heating on protein denaturation, water distribution and texture of sea cucumber, Cucumaria frondosa

The objective of this study was to explore optimized heating processing of sea cucumber, Cucumaria frondosa by means of investigating the effect of boiling temperature (40, 60, 80, 100℃), boiling time (15, 30, 45, 60, 120min) and steaming time (15, 30, 45, 60, 120min) on the protein denaturation, texture and water distribution changes of sea cucumber. Results showed that the TCA-soluble nitrogen, SDS-Page and LF-NMR parameters indicated that boiling at 60℃ and 80℃ could cause obvious proteins denaturation. The denaturation of proteins led to changes in water holding capacity, texture properties and enzyme activity. To take all the index into account, 45min is concluded to be sufficient for cooking of Cucumaria frondosa.