Enzymatic preparation and functional properties of wheat gluten hydrolysates

The water-insolublity of wheat gluten is one of the major limitations for its more extensive use in food processing. Wheat gluten was enzymatically hydrolyzed by several commercially available proteases (Pancreatin Trypsin 6.0S, Porcine pepsin, Pancreatin and Alcalase 2.4L) with protein recovery varying from 42.5 ± 0.7% to 81.3 ± 0.1%. The hydrolytic efficiency of these proteases on wheat gluten was also compared. Alcalase served best for the preparation of wheat gluten hydrolysates (WGHs). Thus, Alcalase-assisted hydrolysates of wheat gluten (AWGHs) with different degrees of hydrolysis (DH 5.0, 10.0 and 15.0%) were further assessed for their functionalities. All the AWGHs had excellent solubility (>60%) over a pH range of 2–12. The emulsifying and foaming properties of AWGH with relatively low DH (5.0%) were remarkably higher compared to the original gluten. However, extensive hydrolysis of gluten resulted in remarkable reduction in emulsifying and foaming properties.