Physical and sensory characterisation of noodles with added native and denatured pea protein isolate

Wheat noodles with added native or denatured pea-protein isolate were characterised for their starch-protein interaction, degree of starch gelatinisation, starch digestibility, textural and sensory properties using light microscopy, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), in vitro digestion, textural profile analysis (TPA) and descriptive analysis respectively. It was hypothesised that denatured proteins with an unfolded structure, would have greater interaction with starch, thereby reducing the extent of gelatinisation and subsequent glucose release compared to native proteins. Results showed that the addition of denatured pea protein to a wheat noodle matrix produced a reduction in in vitro glucose release, which was supported by a lower degree of gelatinisation and greater binding of protein to the starch matrix visually. Addition of native protein to the noodles had less impact on degree of gelatinisation and glucose release. Addition of both proteins had a negligible effect on product texture and sensory perceptual properties.