Accelerated ageing of wheat grains: Part II-influence on thermal characteristics of wheat starch and FTIR spectroscopy of gluten

Wheat quality characteristics are influenced by different factors such as moisture content, storage time and temperature. In this study accelerated ageing of wheat grains was carried out by increasing moisture content (16, 18 and 20%) and keeping the samples in different temperatures (30, 40 and 50 °C) for different periods (2, 5 and 8 days). After milling, the thermal properties of starch and structure of gluten were investigated using Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR); respectively. The experimental set up was designed using response surface methodology and the three distinct factors were combined by central composite design. Results showed that increasing moisture content caused a decrease in onset, peak and end set temperatures of gelatinization while increasing storage time and temperature increased these parameters. By progressing storage time the band intensity of thiol groups decreased while that of disulfide groups of gluten increased indicating an improvement in gluten quality. Increasing moisture content from 16 to 20% and higher storage temperature (50 °C) decreased intensity of disulfide bands.