Properties of transglutaminase-induced myofibrillar/wheat gluten gels

Gelation properties of myofibrillar protein (MP)/wheat gluten (WG) induced by glutamine transaminase (TGase) were studied. Results showed that the inclusion of transglutaminase increased the gel strength, water-holding capacity (WHC), and nonfreezable water (Wnf) of MP/WG mixture. Circular dichroism (CD) analysis showed that the β-sheet and random coil content of the MP/WG treated with TGase addition increased by 12.1% and 3.7%, while the α-helix and β-turn content decreased by 14.2% and 1.8%. Rheological measurements showed that TGase induced higher energy storage modulus value during the MP/WG gel heating-cooling cycle. the hydrogen bond and hydrophobic interaction content of the MP/WG gels increased by 80 and 120 ug/L, and the disulfide bond decreased by 200 ug/L, with TGase addition was increased from 0 to 120 U/g protein. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) showed that MP/WG gel with TGase had uniform and dense network structure. PRACTICAL APPLICATION: The properties of myofibrillar/wheat gluten gel induced by TGase crosslinking was studied. The gel structure and water holding capacity of MP/WG were improved by the cross-linking of TGase. The study of the gel properties of MP/WG induced by TGase crosslinking also can provide a theoretical basis for analyzing the effect of TGase on the application of gluten protein in complex meat emulsion system.