Insights into the modulation of the multi-scale structure of glutelin on the textural properties of reconstituted rice

The presence of glutelin plays an important role in the textural properties of reconstituted rice, but available information is limited. Herein, a comprehensive assessment of the effects of multi-scale structure and intramolecular interactions of glutelin on the textural properties of reconstituted rice was performed. The results demonstrated that the hardness, adhesiveness, and chewiness of reconstituted rice were improved as the added ratio of glutelin increased and the internal structure changed by forming compact flake-like, fibrous branches, more α-helix and β-sheet structure, and enhanced intermolecular interactions. Furthermore, extrusion promoted the generation of special aroma substances by the Maillard reaction. Correlation analysis revealed that the hardness, adhesiveness, and chewiness of reconstituted rice were significant positive correlation with Tp, ∆H, β-turn, random coil, and free SH content, and negative correlation with α-helix of glutelin. These observations provide better insights into strategies for producing reconstituted rice by extrusion.