The conformational rearrangement and microscopic properties of wheat gluten following superheated steam treatment

• Published in: Food control 2022-07, Vol.137, p.108924, Article 108924
• Main Authors: Ma, Yongshuai, Hong, Tingting, Chen, Yisheng, Wu, Fengfeng, Xu, Xueming, Jin, Zhengyu
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Conformational rearrangement; Gluten; Microscopic characteristic; Polymerization behavior; Superheated steam
• ISSN: 0956-7135; 1873-7129
• DOI: 10.1016/j.foodcont.2022.108924

Superheated steam treatment (SST) can improve cereal-based foodstuff quality by altering the gluten properties. In the current study we investigate the effect of SST on the polymerization behavior, conformational rearrangement and microscopic characteristics of gluten, which contribute to determining the molecular mechanisms of SST that impact the gluten properties. Compared with native wheat gluten, SST was observed to induce an increase in sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) insoluble gluten. This indicates that SST promoted the polymerization behavior of gluten via the cross-linking of disulfide (SS) bonds. In addition, hydrogen bonds were observed to develop from the micro-environment variation of tryptophan (Trp) residue in the gluten. This consequently had a synergistic effect on the secondary structure, increasing the proportion of intermolecular β-sheets and α-helices. Furthermore, SST enhanced the molecular surface roughness and weakened the gluten network structure. This study could contribute to insight into the improvement of flour quality following SST. •Conformational rearrangement and microscopic properties of gluten were studied.•Superheated steam treatment buried the tryptophan residue and tyrosine doublet.•Superheated steam treatment rearranged disulfide conformation.•Superheated steam treatment roughened the surface micro-structure of gluten.