## 3 Results and Discussion  
The results of the \(\text{a}_{\text{w}}\), pH, TBARS and color analyses of pastrrma (srt type) with and without the transglutaminase enzyme at different rates are presented in Table 2. The enzyme treatment showed no crucial effect on the \(\text{a}_{\text{w}}\) value (\(p\) > 0.05). By being in the food class of intermediate moisture, the \(\text{a}_{\text{w}}\) value for pastrrma is a notable hurdle for microbiological stability and should be below 0.90 [17]. In this study, the \(\text{a}_{\text{w}}\) value was found to be below 0.90 in all groups. Similarly, [PERSON] et al. [16] reported mean \(\text{a}_{\text{w}}\) values of 0.872 in a control and 0.858 in a group with 0.5% MTGase. The MTGase treatment showed an important effect on pH value (\(p\) < 0.05). The pH values of pastrrma groups ranged from 5.87 to 5.93. The lowest pH value was determined in the 0.50% MTGase group (Table 2). In another study conducted on different pastrrma types, in a group using 0.5% MTGase, lower pH values were determined compared with the control in traditionally produced srt, kusgomu and sekerpare pastrma types [16]. However, as in this study, the differences between the groups were very low. Similarly, in a study conducted on restructured ham, the average pH value was determined as 5.99 in samples using 3% TGase and 6.07 in the control group, and it was emphasized that the difference between the average values had no statistically significant effect [10]. The pH value usually varies between 5.5 and 6.0 for pastrrma [18]. The Turkish Food Codex Communique on Meat, Prepared Meat Mixtures, and Meat Products states that the pH value should be at most 6.0 for pastrrma [22]. \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{l c c c c c c} \hline \hline  & \multicolumn{6}{c}{**Transglutaminase (\%)**} & \multicolumn{1}{c}{\(p\)} & \multicolumn{1}{c}{\(SEM\)} \\ \cline{2-7}  & **Control** & **0.25** & **0.50** & **1.0** & & \\ \hline \(\text{a}_{\text{w}}\) & 0.867 & 0.846 & 0.850 & 0.860 & 0.160 & 0.004 \\ pH & 5.89 b,c & 5.95 a & 5.87 c & 5.93 a,b & 0.021 & 0.011 \\ TBARS (\(\mu\)mol MDA/kg) & 30.06 a & 21.09 b & 18.70 c & 15.94 d & \textless{}0.01 & 1.307 \\ L* & 37.57 & 37.46 & 38.12 & 39.48 & 0.566 & 0.557 \\ a* & 37.30 b & 40.86 a & 38.85 b & 37.63 b & 0.001 & 0.403 \\ b* & 22.16 & 24.59 & 23.13 & 22.79 & 0.181 & 0.396 \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular}  
* d: Different letters indicate statistical difference in each row (\(p\) < 0.05). SEM: Standard error of mean.  
\end{table} 
Table 2: Effect of transglutaminase application on \(\text{a}_{\text{w}}\), pH, TBARS and color (L*, a* and b*) values. In dry-cured meat products such as pastrma, lipid oxidation is one of the biochemical changes that occurs during processing and contributes to the flavor of the product [23; 24]. However, advanced lipid oxidation may adversely affect sensory quality [17]. MTGase had a crucial impact on TBARS value (\(p<0.01\)). Using MTGase in the pastrma production resulted in limited lipid oxidation. While the highest TBARS value was detected in the control group, this value decreased with an increasing amount of enzyme use. The TBARS value with the lowest mean was specified in the presence of MTGase at the level of 1% (Table 2). Similarly, [PERSON] et al. [16] determined that using MTGase at the level of 0.50% decreased the TBARS value in different pastrma types. They emphasized this result due to the partial protection of the MTGase enzyme from oxygen in the pastrma [16]. In this study, the TBARS values in pastrma produced using 0.50% and 1% transglutaminase enzyme were also determined to be at lower levels than the TBARS values found in a study related to pastrma [17]. On the other hand, it has been reported that the modification of food proteins such as myosin and actomyosin by transglutaminase leads to textured products, and protects lysine from various chemical reactions. Furthermore, it retards oxidation by encapsulating lipids and/or lipid-soluble substances, and exhibits various functional properties [25].