Effect of curdlan on the aggregation behavior of gluten protein in frozen cooked noodles during cooking

In order to understand the underlying mechanisms of curdlan on texture properties of frozen cooked noodles (FCN), this study investigated the effects of curdlan on the physicochemical and structural properties of gluten during cooking. The results showed the textural properties were obviously enhanced with 0.5% curdlan added, meanwhile, the compact and homogeneous gluten network was formed by the presence of curdlan. RP-HPLC and FTIR patterns demonstrated that curdlan delayed the increment of protein aggregation and the conformational change during heating. SDS-PAGE and chemical interaction suggested that hydrophobic interactions and steric-hindrance, rather than covalent crosslinking, were the main ways curdlan acted on gluten aggregation. While the homogeneity of the gluten network and quality of FCN were destroyed by undue gluten aggregation during heating, the addition of curdlan mitigated the extent of this undesirable change. This study provides a more comprehensive theoretical basis for FCN quality control.