Fuente: Foods - Revista científica (MDPI) Foods, Vol. 15, Pages 1620: Molecular Interactions of Resistant Dextrin with Wheat Starch and Gluten: Structural Dynamics and Macromolecular Network Formation
Foods doi: 10.3390/foods15101620
Authors:
Yue Sun
Lu Wang
Yinta Li
Xue Bai
Rui Yang
Lili Wang
Ruge Cao

Refined wheat staple foods are widely criticized for low dietary fiber and high postprandial glycemic response, making soluble dietary fiber fortification a promising strategy for cereal improvement. This study investigated how resistant dextrin (RD) modulates wheat starch, gluten, dough, and bread quality through multiscale interactions. In wheat starch, 6% RD gave the best overall balance, reducing 14-day retrogradation from 57.2% to 48.6%, delaying gelatinization, and restricting amylose diffusion, with hydrogen bonding identified as a major contributing interaction. In gluten, RD increased water-holding capacity but weakened network integrity, as evidenced by reduced moduli, a shift in thiol–disulfide balance, secondary-structure redistribution (increased β-sheet, decreased α-helix/β-turn), and suppressed glutenin polymerization, yielding a looser microstructure. In dough, SEM and rheological results suggested that moderate RD (4–6%) may form a hydrated, polysaccharide-rich phase that fills structural voids and improves matrix continuity, partially offsetting gluten weakening and enhancing viscoelasticity. Overall, this study establishes a quantitative relationship between RD addition level, multiscale macromolecular interactions in wheat matrices, and the processing performance and quality of bakery products.