Cereal Chem 54:833 - 839.  |  VIEW ARTICLE
Studies of Glutenin. X. Effect of Fatty Acids and Their Sodium Salts on Solubility in Water.

K. Kobrehel and W. Bushuk. Copyright 1977 by the American Association of Cereal Chemists, Inc. 

Glutenin (freeze-dried) dissolves completely in water in the presence of relatively high concentrations of sodium palmitate or sodium stearate in comparison with the amount of glutenin. Sodium salts of shorterchain fatty acids are less effective in this solubilizing action. Fatty acids do not show this effect except hexanoic which can solubilize some but not all the glutenin. Salts (e.g., sodium chloride) inhibit that ability of the sodium salts of long-chain fatty acids to dissolve glutenin. These results suggest that the insolubility of glutenin is largely due to hydrophobic interactions (which may involve flour lipids). It is postulated that these interactions play a keyrole in the functional properties of glutenin in breadmaking.