Changes in Characteristics of Kithul ( Caryota urens ) Flour Prepared by Different Modification Techniques

Abstract

Flour has been an ample source of research and most abundant material for a number of food applications. The aim of this study is to introduce modified Kithul flour for certain industrial requirements. Several physical and chemical treatments were employed to modify Kithul ( Caryota urens ) flour. The effects of pregelatinization (PG-I and II), acid modification (AC), and dextrinization (DX) on their swelling power, solubility, granular morphology, viscosity, and X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns were studied. At 75°C, pregelatinized treated (PG-II) flour had a high solubility (5.31), while at 70°C pregelatinized treated (PG-I) flour had a low solubility (4.47) as compared to the solubility of native flour sample (RW = 4.88). Same pattern has been followed by the swelling power while viscosity showed the highest value for PG-II (7296.51 Cp) and lowest value for DX treatment (873.40 Cp) as peak viscosities. There were no significant changes in granular size of all treatments compared with the native Kithul flour (45.52 μ m). X-ray diffraction (XRD) also followed the same pattern by presenting Bragg’s angle ( 2 θ ) positions near 15 (Peak 1), 17 (Peak 2), 18 (Peak 3), and 23 (Peak 4) providing evidence for the presence of crystallites which belong to type A in all modified and native Kithul flour treatments.