The effects of lipids and residual starch components of wheat flour gluten on gluten hydration properties were investigated using nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) techniques. Whole or native, lipid-free, starch-free, and lipid- and starch-free gluten samples were prepared from wheat (Triticum aestivum) cv. Mercia. 2H NMR relaxation on gluten samples hydrated with deuterium oxide (D2O) was measured over a 278–363 K temperature range. FTIR spectra were recorded in dry and fully hydrated material. Transverse relaxation (T2) results indicated that all four gluten samples were hydrophilic in nature. There was little difference in relaxation behavior of whole and lipid-free gluten samples. T2 values and populations of the relaxation components were very similar in each. The FTIR spectra of both samples showed an increase in extended β-sheet secondary structures on hydration. These results suggest that lipid binding in gluten, if it occurs, has little effect on whea...
