PROTEIN HAVING ICE NUCLEATING ACTIVITY

摘要

A protein having an ice nucleating activity which is a protein originating in a crustacean; when determined by the sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS)-polyacrylamide electrophoresis method, showing a molecular weight of about 200,000 under non-reductive conditions and showing bands of about 86,000 and about 90,000 in a reduced state; and the N-terminal amino acid thereof being represented by SEQ ID NO:1 or 2. This protein is contained in a large amount in crustacean shells which are mostly discarded excluding the parts employed as the starting material for producing meal, chitin and chitosan. Therefore, it can be prepared in a large amount and produced at a low cost. Because of being a food-origin protein, it can be easily employed as a food additive. The above-described protein has an ice nucleating activity and an activity of preventing ice crystals from recrystallization, which makes it widely usable for various purposes, for example, quality preservation of frozen foods.