Wheat Gluten is a proteinaceous material obtained from wheat after starch extraction. It is mainly composed of two types of proteins – gliadins and glutenins, which confer specific visco-elasticity (i.e. ability to form a network providing suitable binding). Due to its visco-elasticity, Wheat Gluten can act as pellet binder in extruded shrimp feed to partially replace starch or indigestible binders. Besides being a high protein ingredient, it has an interesting amino-acid profile where it is rather low in lysine, containing more sulphur amino acids than other plant protein sources. It is high in glutamine, which is known to improve gut health and modulate immunity.
Phosphorus is an essential component of shrimp diets as it not only affect hard tissues but also intermediary metabolism and in turn, feed conversion ratio. Whereas compare to other plant protein, wheat gluten has higher Phosphorus availability.
Wheat Gluten’s water insolubility reduces pellet breakdown, which can be interesting in cases where water stability must be high: for shrimp feeds (long residence time in water before eating) and in farms where the transportation of pellets from weighing cells to the fish cages with water is performed. With its own natural viscosity, elasticity and suspension after being wet, the utilization in water is increased and there is a reduced risk of water pollution.