Effect of microwave treatment on physical and functional properties of foxtail millet flour

Abstract

Foxtail millet is one of the common millets used for multiple purposes in India. It contains a good amount of fiber along with other nutrients and thus serves as a digesting aid. Because of its diversified benefits, foxtail millet has a wide range of applications in the bakery, brewery, and beverage industries. The application of novel thermal technologies to maintain and improve the nutritional and quality characteristics is of great importance in recent days. The present study investigates the application of microwave pre-treatment to the foxtail millet and understanding of its effects on physical and functional properties. Physical properties like tapped density, bulk density, Carr’s index, and Hausner ratio didn’t show any difference in the obtained values. Even though, there was a noticeable change in color of microwave treated flour, that didn’t show any impact on its visual appearance. Oil absorption capacity decreased with microwave treatment while water absorption capacity resulted increased. Swelling power decreased with an increase in power level and time. However, the solubility of flour increased with microwave treatment and the highest solubility was noticed at 840 W and 2 min treatment conditions.