Cold plasma-assisted buckwheat grain dehulling and farinographical properties of dehulled buckwheat flour

• Published in: Journal of cereal science 2023-07, Vol.112, p.103716, Article 103716
• Main Authors: Zhang, Yifu, Yang, Tongliang, Yue, Daheng, Shao, Xiao, Chen, Ye
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Buckwheat; buckwheat flour; cold; Cold plasma; color; crystal structure; Dehulling; fatty acids; flavonoids; gelatinization; heat; heat treatment; hulling; iodine; protein denaturation; Quality; seeds; solubility; starch
• ISSN: 0733-5210; 1095-9963
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jcs.2023.103716

The process of dehulling buckwheat grain should lead to less breaking of the buckwheat grain and improve the whole kernel recovery rate. However, heat treatment-based delhulling is associated with starch gelatinization, protein denaturation, and degradation of flavonoids. This study investigated a cold plasma-based rapid dehulling technology by analyzing the farinographical properties of dehulled buckwheat flour (BF). Cold plasma treatment-mediated etching and dehydration created cracks and pores on the surface of the hull, and the gap between the hull and the kernel increased, resulting in a decrease of the critical damage force of the hull by 58.3%. Compared with heat treatment, significant changes were observed in solubility, swelling power, color, iodine blue values, fatty acid and flavonoid contents, and crystal structure in cold plasma-treated dehulled BF. In conclusion, cold plasma can be used as an ancillary method of dehulling buckwheat for the production of high-quality BF. [Display omitted] •Cold plasma treatment can reduce the critical damage force of buckwheat hull by 58.3%.•Cold plasma treatment did not affect the farinographic properties of dehulled buckwheat flour.•Cold plasma treatment can retain the content of flavonoids and total phenols in dehulled buckwheat flour.