Abstract: In order to realize the resource utilization of peony stamens, the effects of peony stamen protein on the texture, dynamic rheological properties, disulfide bonds, surface microstructure and secondary structure of dough and gluten proteins were studied using soybean protein isolate (SPI) as a reference. The results showed that peony stamen protein could significantly improve the hardness, stickiness and chewiness of dough, and the effect of addition of less than 6% of peony stamen protein was more pronounced than that of SPI. Addition of peony stamen protein increased the storage and loss moduli and consequently the viscoelasticity of dough. The effect of peony stamen protein on the formation of gluten protein network structure was basically the same as that of SPI. Under scanning electron microscopy (SEM), gluten proteins added with 6% of peony stamen protein exhibited a compact network structure consisting of many deep pores. In the presence of peony stamen protein, the total proportion of the relative stable secondary structures of α-helix and β-sheet reached the maximum value of 59.32%, and the content of disulfide bonds increased by 89% compared with the blank group. In conclusion, peony stamen protein can effectively promote the formation of gluten protein network structure and improve the quality of dough, and therefore can be used in the production of flour products with high viscoelasticity requirements.

Key words: peony stamen protein; dough; gluten proteins; texture properties; scanning electron microscopy