## 4 Conclusions  
The results of the study demonstrated the cryoprotective effect of OVA/\(\beta\)CD on _Culter alburnus_ MPs during frozen storage. The structural changes in the MPs were confirmed by changes in surface hydrophobicity (434.20 to 920.47 SOANS) and sulfhydryl content (59.75 to 31.72 nmol/mg) in the control MP samples throughout the freezing  
Figure 8: Proton density images of myofibrillar protein gels treated with different concentrations of OVA/\(\beta\)CD during 90 days of frozen storage at \(-18\)\({}^{\circ}\)C.  
Figure 7: Relaxation time T\({}_{2}\) of myofibrillar protein gels treated with different concentrations of OVA/\(\beta\)CD during 90 days of frozen storage at \(-18\)\({}^{\circ}\)C. (**A**) 0% OVA/\(\beta\)CD treatment. (**B**) 2% OVA/\(\beta\)CD treatment. (**C**) 4% OVA/\(\beta\)CD treatment. (**D**) 6% OVA/\(\beta\)CD treatment.  
process. The secondary and tertiary structural properties decreases were due to protein aggregation, denaturation and exposure of aromatic amino acids to the freezing environment. Meanwhile, OVA/\(\beta\)CD treatment increased the storage modulus (G') and loss modulus (G') and enhanced the MP gel properties, as confirmed with improved WHC (88.47 to 73.64%) and LF-NMR analyses, by interacting at the functional sites of the protein molecules and reducing the availability of free water molecules. These outcomes were related to the gelling and structural properties of MPs protected by OVA/\(\beta\)CD as a cryoprotectant. Overall, 6% OVA/\(\beta\)CD can be considered as an effective commercial cryoprotectant concentration, offering greatly improved structural properties and gel behavior of MPs during frozen storage; it is expected to be used as an effective new cryoprotectant in frozen fishing applications. Moreover, suitable cryoprotectants with reduced sweetness and caloric values are needed to improve the quality, safety and commercial value of seafood products. The limitation of this study is that the use of OVA/\(\beta\)CD is still under consideration for use in product development and sensory analyses.  
Conceptualization, M.L. and Z.Z.; data curation, M.L. and M.H.S.; formal analysis, N.W., Z.Z., A.N., R.M.A., M.J.S. and J.M.L.; funding acquisition, A.N., M.H.S. and R.M.A.; investigation, N.W., Z.Z., S.A., M.J.S. and J.M.L.; project administration, R.M.A.; resources, M.L., N.W. and S.A.; software, X.W., M.H.S. and R.M.A.; supervision, X.W. and S.A.; validation, Z.Z.; visualization, X.W., M.H.S., S.A. and B.L.J.; writing--original draft, M.L., X.W., N.W. and B.L.J.; writing--review and editing, A.N., M.J.S., J.M.L. and B.L.J. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.  
The publication of the present work is supported by the Natural Science Basic Research Program of Shaanxi Province (grant no. 2018J05218) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (51809224), Top Young Talents of Shaanxi Special Support Program.  
Not applicable.  
Data Availability Statement: Data is contained within the article.  
This study was financially supported by the Nature Science Foundation of Hubei Province (2018 CFB269), National Key R & D Program of China (2018 YFD0400702) and the Major technical innovation special project of Hubei (2018 ABA100). The authors would like to extend their sincere appreciation to the Researchers Supporting Project Number (RSP-2021/168), King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.  
The authors have no conflict of interest to declare. All co-authors have seen and agree with the contents of the manuscript. We certify that the submission is original work and is not under review at any other publication.