Abstract: 【Objective】The water-insolublity of gluten is one of the major limitations for its more extensive use in food processing. To extend its applications, wheat gluten was enzymatically hydrolyzed to improve its solubility and other functionalities.【Method】Wheat gluten was enzymatically hydrolyzed by several commercially available proteases (pancreatin trypsin 6.0S, porcine pepsin, pancreatin and Alcalase 2.4L). The protein recovery and hydrolytic efficiency of hydrolysis with those proteases were compared and the functionalities of the hydrolysates were determined.【Result】The protein recovery varied from 42.50% to 81.33%. Alcalase served best for the preparation of wheat gluten hydrolysates (WGHs). Thus, Alcalase-assisted hydrolysates of wheat gluten (AWGHs) with different degrees of hydrolysis (DH 5.0%, 10.0% and 15.0%) were further assessed for their functionalities. All the products had excellent solubility (>60%) over a pH range of 2-12. And the emulsifying and foaming properties of AWGH with relatively low DH (5.0%) were remarkably higher compared to the original gluten.【Conclusion】Alcalase served best for the hydrolysis of wheat gluten. AWGH of DH 5% having better foaming and emulsifying properties. Extensive hydrolysis of gluten resulted in remarkable reduction in emulsifying, foaming capacity and stability.

Key words: Wheat gluten, Enzymatic hydrolysis, Alcalase, Functional property