Abstract:In this study, Lactobacillus plantarum and yeast were used as a composite starter to replace partially sodium salt to prepare low-salt dry-cured red fish. The inhibition of the composite bacteria on the oxidation of red fish during dry-curing was studied through measuring its water activity, water content, color difference, texture, pH, and protein oxidation. The results showed that the water activity and pH of the samples with simultaneously added Lactobacillus plantarum and yeast exogenous microorganisms were insignificantly different from those of the control group (P>0.05), though their water contents differed significantly (P<0.05; 35.21% m/m and 35.35% m/m, respectively, for the control group and the composite bacteria group). These results indicated that replacing partially sodium salt with composite bacteria did not affect the preservation of dry-cured red fish. The composite bacteria made the dry-cured red fish having a lower brightness (L*) (P<0.05) and a higher yellowness (b*) compared with the control group (P<0.05). These results showed that the composite bacteria helped maintain the stability of the color of dry-cured red fish. In addition, adding composite bacteria improved the texture characteristics of dry-cured red fish. The results showed that the protein oxidation in dry-cured red fish caused the increase of carbonyl content and decrease in the content of sulfhydryl group. Thus, replacing partially the sodium salt with the composimte bacteria could significantly reduce protein oxidation during processing. Furthermore, compared with the red fish added with yeast alone, the inhibitory effect of protein oxidation in the red fish induced by inoculating Lactobacillus plantarum alone was better.