ABSTRACT
The growing interest in reducing usage of fossil raw materials, together with the big surplus of cereals, particularly in the European Community, has stimulated research work connected with nonfood uses of cereals. A new direction of potential industrial use of cereal proteins is the production of amino acid- or peptide-based tensides. Protein hydrolysates containing low level of oligopeptides may be acylated with fatty acid chlorides. Major industrial markets for proteins in general are fiber, films, or adhesive compositions. The advantageous effect of plasticizers on properties of gluten-based films is related to a decrease in the strength of the film. Replacement of urea-formaldehyde resins to an extent of 5% gave the best results with respect in elastomechanical and swelling properties. Chemical modification results in changes in functional properties of gluten and increases the potential fields of application. Although chemically modified gluten may be used in the food industry too, nutritional problems make it more useful for nonfood purposes.
