Cold Plasma-Treated Chickpea Protein Isolate: Effects on Rheological Behavior and Quality Characteristics of Allergen-Free Rice Muffins

TL;DR

Cold plasma treatment improves the texture and quality of allergen-free rice muffins made with chickpea protein.

Contribution

Cold plasma modification enhances the functional properties of chickpea protein for allergen-free baking.

Findings

Cold plasma-treated chickpea protein increased muffin volume by 20.1% compared to the control.

Modified chickpea protein improved elasticity and color while reducing hardness in muffins.

Commercial chickpea protein resulted in overly hard muffins despite high viscoelasticity in batter.

Abstract

Allergen-free (AF) baked goods usually show inferior texture and mouth-feel due to lack of functional proteins. This study evaluated the quality characteristics of AF muffins incorporated with three different sources of chickpea protein isolate (CPI), including commercial CPI, laboratory CPI, and cold plasma-modified laboratory CPI at varying addition levels (5%, 10%, and 15%). Results indicate that commercially available CPI exhibits high viscoelasticity in whole wheat muffin batter due to mixed protein types and severe denaturation, but the finished muffins are excessively hard with insufficient elasticity. Adding 15% laboratory CPI treated with cold plasma significantly enhanced the viscoelasticity of the muffin batter. The final product achieved a volume of 99.43 cm3, representing a 20.1% increase compared to the protein-free control group. This resulted in a superior product with enhanced elasticity, moderate hardness, and improved color. This study confirms that cold plasma modification technology effectively unlocks the structural and functional potential of chickpea protein in AF baking systems, offering an innovative solution for developing high-quality, high-protein AF foods. Future research will focus on the industrial scalability of this technology, product sensory characteristics, and shelf-life evaluation.

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