Influence of reconstituted gluten fractions on the short-term and long-term retrogradation of wheat starch

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the influence of reconstituted gluten fractions (RGF) with varied glutenin/gliadin (glu/gli) ratios on short-term and long-term retrogradation of wheat starch (WS). Adding RGF, irrespective of glu/gli ratio, effectively inhibited the retrogradation behavior of WS. Lower storage modulus and higher water mobility during storage at 4 °C for 8 h suggested that gliadin could restrain the short-term retrogradation of amylose more evidently than glutenin. During storage for 28 d, increasing glutenin could reduce the retrogradation enthalpy and relative crystallinity of starch. Retrogradation degree of gliadin alone-treated WS was 14.0% higher than that of glutenin alone-treated sample, indicating that glutenin was superior in retarding long-term retrogradation of amylopectin. Furthermore, glutenin produced a more disordered gel structure, which was attributed to its inhibition of amylopectin aggregation at the nanoscale. This study suggested that by adjusting glu/gli ratios in RGF, the shelf-life of wheat-based products during short-term and long-term storage could be prolonged.