Transglutaminase changes glutinous rice flour and sweet dumplings
What it found
Adding transglutaminase to glutinous rice flour reduced protein loss during wet processing and made sweet dumplings softer and slower to digest in lab tests.
What they found
Animal and lab studies
Slower digestion
In dumplings with 0.2 percent transglutaminase, protein wrapping around starch granules slowed digestion and lowered the final hydrolysis rate in lab tests. The authors say this is beneficial for people with weight and glycemic control issues.
Other findings
Less protein lost
Transglutaminase at 0.2 percent lowered protein loss during the wet processing of glutinous rice flour.
Flour structure changed
The treatment reduced the crystallinity and viscosity of the glutinous rice flour.
Fewer cracked dumplings
Sweet dumplings made with the treated flour had less cracking and cooking loss after freeze-thaw cycles.
Softer, less sticky
The dumplings were less hard and less viscous, which the authors say makes them more suitable for people with swallowing difficulties.
What the authors conclude
“In conclusion, this study contributes to the production of tasty, customized sweet dumplings.”
Also in their conclusions
- They say the study contributes to the production of tasty, customized sweet dumplings.
- They report that the treated dumplings are more suitable for people with swallowing difficulties and that slower starch digestion is beneficial for people with weight and glycemic control issues.
How it was done
The authors say developing and making high-quality starch is a new focus in food science.
They used transglutaminase at 0.2 percent in the wet processing of glutinous rice flour to prepare sweet dumplings, then measured processing properties, dumpling quality after freeze-thaw cycles, and digestion in the lab.
What it can’t tell you
- We summarised it from the abstract only.
- The digestion findings come from lab tests, not from people eating the dumplings.
- The study did not test how the dumplings affect swallowing, weight or blood sugar in real people.
Who paid
- Conflicts
- Declaration of competing interest The authors declare to have no conflict of interest.
- Authors work at
- Nanjing Agricultural University, PR China
The paper
- Title
- Action of microbial transglutaminase (MTGase) on the processing properties of glutinous rice flour and the quality attributes of sweet dumplings and in vitro digestion
- Type
- Study
- Evidence
- Animals and lab studies
- Summarised from
- Abstract only
- Cite
- Chang T, Bian L, Li G, Zhang C (2025). Action of microbial transglutaminase (MTGase) on the processing properties of glutinous rice flour and the quality attributes of sweet dumplings and in vitro digestion. Food chemistry. doi:10.1016/j.foodchem.2024.140992PubMed 39208723DOI
Summary written 26 Sep 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error