The destructuration of native maize starch in mixtures of water and ionic liquids (ILs) containing acetate anions was studied in dynamic heating conditions, combining calorimetry, rheology, microscopy and chromatographic techniques.

Gluten-free batters, in general, require the incorporation of agents to control their rheology; this role is commonly played by hydrocolloids. New natural sources of hydrocolloids are under permanent research. In this regard, the functional properties of the galactomannan extracted from the seed of Gleditsia triacanthos (Gledi) have been studied. In this work, we evaluated the incorporation of this hydrocolloid, alone and in combination with Xanthan gum, in gluten-free batters and bread and compared it with Guar gum. The incorporation of hydrocolloids increased the viscoelastic profile of the batters. Gledi addition at 0.5% and 1.25% increased the elastic modulus (G′) by 200% and 1500%, respectively, and similar trends were observed when Gledi-Xanthan was used. These increases were more pronounced when Guar and Guar-Xanthan were used. The batters became firmer and more elastically resistant because of the addition of hydrocolloids; batters containing Gledi had lower values of these parameters than batters containing Gledi-Xanthan. The addition of Gledi at both doses significantly increased the volume of the bread compared to the control by about 12%, while when Xanthan gum was included, a decrease was observed, especially at higher doses (by about 12%). The increase in specific volume was accompanied by a decrease in initial crumb firmness and chewiness, and during storage, they were significantly reduced. Bread prepared with Guar gum and Guar-Xanthan gum combinations was also evaluated, and the trends observed were comparable to that of bread with Gledi gum and Gledi-Xanthan gum. The results showed that Gledi addition favors the production of bread of high technological quality.

La enfermedad celíaca es una enteropatía crónica del intestino delgado inmunomediada y promovida por la exposición a una dieta con gluten en individuos genéticamente predispuestos. La interacción de factores genéticos y ambientales provoca la pérdida de tolerancia a ciertas proteínas presentes en algunos cereales. Recientemente se estableció una prevalencia de celiaquía del 1% en el mundo, con grandes variaciones entre los países. El único tratamiento eficaz es adoptar una dieta libre de gluten. El gluten es una red proteica que se estructura al hidratar la harina y se refuerza mediante el amasado. Está conformado fundamentalmente por dos fracciones proteicas: prolaminas y glutelinas. Estas proteínas juegan un rol preponderante en la calidad de los más tradicionales productos de panificación, por lo que es un gran desafío para investigadores y tecnólogos elaborar estos productos sin contar con esta red. La polimerización de proteínas para simular la red de gluten ha mostrado sus limitaciones, por lo que se profundizó en el estudio de las interacciones entre diferentes componentes como un factor determinante para el desarrollo de productos. Sobre esa base se obtuvieron mejores resultados usando almidón de mandioca y harina de soja activa, gracias las interacciones específicas establecidas entre ambos componentes.