Insights into the in vitro digestibility and rheology properties of myofibrillar protein with different incorporation types of curdlan

This study investigated the effects of two forms of curdlan, namely curdlan thermoreversibility (CT) and curdlan powder (CP), on in vitro digestion and viscoelastic properties of myofibrillar protein (MP). As the level of curdlan (0.1–0.5%) increased, pepsin digestibility and pancreatin digestibility significantly decreased, active sulfhydryl group also decreased, while surface hydrophobicity and total sulfhydryl groups increased. Meanwhile, curdlan enhanced the secondary and tertiary structures of MP. As the pepsin digest, α-helix gradually transformed into random coil. Furthermore, the viscosity, storage modulus (G") and loss modulus (G') increased with the CT or CP addition. After in vitro digestion, the viscoelasticity significantly decreased with a dose-response. Molecular dynamics simulations showed hydrogen bond formation (2.86 on average) between MP and curdlan contributing to reduced radius of gyration and solvent accessible surface area. Overall, this study highlighted curdlan as a promising ingredient to modulate structural properties and digestibility of MP, especially in pre-hydrated (CT) groups.