Thermo-rheological and functional properties of gamma-irradiated wholewheat flour

The effects of different doses (0, 0.5, 1, 2.5, 5 and 10 kGy) of gamma irradiation on the thermal, rheological and functional properties of the wholewheat flour were evaluated. Water and oil absorption capacity of the flour increased from 85.92% to 91.44% and 1.10 to 1.91 g g−1 of flour, respectively, with increase in irradiation dose. The dough development time decreased with dose from 4.0 to 3.0 min. The transition temperatures (To, Tp and Tc) decreased as the dose increased; enthalpy of gelatinisation (∆H) decreased from 5.18 to 4.27 J g−1 with dose. The flow behaviour showed a shear-thinning behaviour, and the hysteresis area decreased with dose. The structural recovery decreased with dose. FTIR did not show formation of any new chemical groups.