Effects of NaCl concentration on native and acetylated wheat gluten

Since acetylation mainly increases the hydrophobicity of gluten, it is used as a common method to increase certain functional properties of the gluten. Some components exist in a food system can also affect the properties of the gluten and its derivatives. With the aim of studying the effects of common salt (NaCl) on the characteristics of native and acetylated gluten, in this research NaCl in concentrations of 0.0, 0.2, 0.4 and 0.6 mol/L was added to the protein suspensions at neutral condition. Some of the functional properties of the native and acetylated gluten including solubility, water absorption, water holding capacity, emulsifying activity, emulsifying stability and foaming capacity and stability were studied. The results showed that the water solubility, water holding capacity and water absorption of the acetylated gluten were higher than those of the native gluten only at salt levels less than 0.2 M. Similar effects were observed for emulsifying activity, emulsion stability and foam ability of the samples. The results of this study indicated that the presence of salt in the system could differently influence the functional properties of the native and acetylated gluten and determine their food applications.