The quality changes of golden pompano fillets in air packaging (AP) and modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) with 30% CO₂/70% N₂, 50% CO₂/50% N₂, and 70% CO₂/30% N₂ were evaluated under superchilling (−3 °C). The results showed that the whiteness of fillets decreased during storage. The rate of pH increase of MAP was significantly slower than in AP groups, in which MAP with 70% CO₂/30% N₂ effectively suppressed the PH. Interestingly, the hardness decreased on day five following the treatments, followed by a relatively stationary trend. MAP could greatly suppress the increase of total volatile basic nitrogen (TVB-N) contents of fillets compared to fillets packed in AP. All MAP groups of fillets maintained first-grade freshness throughout storage, while the AP samples decreased to second-grade freshness on about the 25th day. MAP with 70% CO₂/30% N₂ and MAP with 50% CO₂/50% N₂ had the best results in inhibiting protein degeneration and explanation. Unexpectedly, drip loss of fillets in MAP far exceeded the AP group during storage, which causes sensory discomfort. Anaerobic plate count (APC) of fillets in AP exceeded the consumption limit of 6.7 log CFU/g on day 26 (6.75 log CFU/g on the 26th day), whereas the MAP was still microbiologically acceptable after 30 days of storage (6.43, 6.41, 6.22 log CFU/g, respectively). Considering physicochemical and microbiological parameters, the shelf life of fillets packed in AP was 25 days. MAP treatments could prolong the shelf life of fillets by ~4–5 days compared to AP. Overall, MAP with 70% CO₂/30% N₂ gas ratio was best for inhibiting the quality deterioration of fillets. Furthermore, principal component analysis (PCA) was performed to evaluate the critical indicators of quality deterioration of the fillets. Two principal components were determined by dimensionality reduction, in which the contribution of the first principal component was centrifugal loss > hardness > TVB-N > APC > CO₂ solubility > TBARs > drip loss > pH, which mainly reflected the degree of microbial proliferation, protein hydrolysis, and oxidation. The contribution of the second principal component was pH > TBRAs > drip loss > APC > CO₂ solubility > TVB-N > hardness > centrifugal loss, indicating a high correlation between lipid oxidation and microbial proliferation index.

Grateloupia livida protein was hydrolyzed with various proteases (alkaline protease, Protamex and neutral protease) to obtain anti-oxidative peptides. Antioxidant activity of the enzymatic hydrolysates was evaluated by the DPPH radical scavenging, ABTS radical scavenging and reducing power assays. The results suggested that hydrolysates obtained by neutral protease 1 h hydrolysis displayed the highest antioxidant activity (DPPH IC₅₀ value of 3.96 mg/mL ± 0.41 mg/mL, ABTS IC₅₀ value of 0.88 ± 0.13 mg/mL and reducing power of 0.531 ± 0.012 at 8 mg/mL), and had low molecular weight distribution (almost 99% below 3 kDa). Three fractions (F1–F3) were then isolated from the hydrolysates by using semi-preparative RP-HPLC, and the fraction F3 showed the highest antioxidant ability. Four antioxidant peptides were identified as LYEEMKESKVINADK, LEADNVGVVLMGDGR, LIDDSFGTDAPVPERL, and GLDELSEEDRLT from the F3 by LC-MS/MS. Online prediction showed that the four peptides possessed good water solubility, non-toxic and non-allergenic characteristics. Moreover, the LYEEMKESKVINADK exhibited the highest antioxidant ability. Molecular docking revealed that these peptides could all well bind with Kelch-like ECH-associated protein 1 (Keap1), among which LYEEMKESKVINADK had the lowest docking energy (−216.878 kcal/mol). These results demonstrated that the antioxidant peptides from Grateloupia livida could potentially be used as natural antioxidant.