Effect of phosphate salts on the gluten network structure and quality of wheat noodles

The effects of three phosphate salts (PS) on the secondary structure, microstructure of gluten, rheological properties of dough and water status of noodles were investigated to determine the mechanisms underlying the changes in the quality of noodles. Changes in the secondary structure detected were the increased number of β-sheet and decreased number of random coil structures. PS reduced the content of free sulfhydryl (SH) and increased the content of disulfide (SS) bonds. Sodium dodecyl sulfate–polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) analysis indicated that the band density of the high molecular regions of the gluten was reduced. The results showed that adding PS induced a more compact microstructure and improved the G′ and G′′ values of the dough. After adding PS, the water-solids interaction in noodles was enhanced by the decreased water mobility. It was concluded that PS promoted the water holding capacity of the noodles and strengthened the gluten network.