Abstract
In this study the interactions between Serish root inulin and the main biopolymer types of wheat flour namely gluten, starch and phospholipid, were investigated in different model systems using Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy to unravel the underlying physical mechanism by which inulin impacts dough and bread properties. Interactions of inulin with starch and phospholipid were not considerable compared to gluten, but it was also clear that the modes of these interactions varied with the type and the amount of additives used in model formulation. This study revealed that when inulin is added to gluten, water redistribution promotes partial dehydration of gluten and collapse of β-spirals into intermolecular β-sheet structures; this trans-conformations might be due to physical reasons are believed to further impact the poor quality of bread containing added inulin. Upon performing Gaussian-Lorenzian curve fitting, it was observed that by adding of inulin to model systems, the relative contribution of characteristic peaks of β-turn and intramolecular β-sheet was progressively decreased whereas intermolecular β-sheet and α-helix contents were increased.