We had earlier shown that the dispersion of wheat gluten in acetic acid solution conferred gliadin-like characteristics to the polymeric glutenins. To elucidate the molecular behavior of its polymeric glutenins, the characteristics of gluten powder prepared from dispersions with various types of acid were investigated in this study. Mixograph measurements showed that the acid-treated gluten powders, regardless of the type of acid, had dough properties markedly weakened in both resistance and elasticity properties, as though gliadin was supplemented. The polymeric glutenins extracted with 70% ethanol increased greatly in all acid-treated gluten powders. Size exclusion HPLC and SDS-PAGE indicated that the behavior of polymeric glutenins due to acid treatment was attributed to their subunit composition rich in high molecular weight glutenin subunit (HMW-GS) and not their molecular size. The gluten prepared with the addition of NaCl in acid dispersion had properties similar to those of the control gluten. The results suggest that ionic repulsion induced by acid dispersion made the polymeric glutenins rich in HMW-GS disaggregate, and therefore, act like gliadins.
Keywords: acid dispersion; dough properties; ethanol extractability; molecular size; spray-dried gluten.
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