Abstract:The effects of arginine low-sodium salt on pork quality were investigated by analyzing the effects of different arginine low-sodium salt additions (arginine replacing 30% NaCl) on the textural characteristics, colour difference, water holding capacity, cooking loss, pH, moisture content, myofibril fragmentation index (MFI), protein degradation and ultrastructure of pork. The results showed that the use of 4% arginine low-sodium salt significantly improved the elasticity (increased by 60.0%) and chewiness (increased by 48.3%) of pork (P<0.05), and improved the colour of pork (a increased from 2.9 to 6.3) (P<0.05) compared to pork cured with 3% pure NaCl. It increased the pH from 5.71 to 6.11,decreased the cooking loss of pork from 32.12 g/(100 g) to 23.98 g/(100 g), but there was no significant change in water holding capacity(P<0.05). The addition of 4% low sodium arginine increased the pork myogenic fibre fragmentation index from 44.73 to 71.40 (P<0.05). Ultrastructural results showed that the I-band, A-band and M-line of myogenic fibres underwent different degrees of degradation. SDS-PAGE electrophoresis profiles showed that actin was significantly degraded to small-molecule components when arginine low sodium salt was added at 2.5%-3.5%. Conclusion: arginine low-sodium salt had the effect of improving the texture, color and tenderness of the pork, which was helpful for improving the quality of pork.