Dextran was grafted on to rice protein (RP) by the wet-heating Maillard reaction, and the structure and functional properties of the rice protein–dextran conjugates (RPDCs) were investigated. The RPDCs obtained by the Maillard reaction exhibited superior functionality compared with original RP. The solubility, emulsifying activity index, emulsifying stability index, foaming activity index and foaming stability of the RPDCs increased by factors of 7.50, 1.79, 2.20, 1.69 and 2.01, respectively, compared to original RP. The molecular weight, part...