Effect of ultraviolet irradiation on wheat (Triticum aestivum) flour: Study on protein modification and changes in quality attributes

Abstract Wheat is one of the most widely consumed cereals, and it witnesses huge variation in its physicochemical properties due to pre- and post-harvest operations, hence, it undergoes many physicochemical treatments to achieve optimum baking characteristics. In the current study, ultraviolet (UV) radiation is proposed as a green technology to modify the wheat flour characteristics. Irradiation of Wheat flour with UV-C radiation (254 nm) of different radiation power and exposure time resulted a significant change in the physicochemical properties (water-binding capacity, amylose content, reducing sugar, sulfhydryl (SH), disulfide (SS) groups level). Further, decrease in gluten content, increase in total volatile basic nitrogen (TVBN) content, and photo-induced thiol-disulfide bridge exchange was observed upon irradiation. FTIR analysis of flour, gluten and gliadin protein confirmed the modification in protein conformations upon irradiation. The β-sheet had the highest contribution in protein conformation for wheat flour, while for gluten protein powder, random coils showed the maximum contribution. The first two principal components could explain 92.55% of total variance during principal component analysis, and the gluten content was correlated positively with SS content but negatively with SH and TVBN content. This study will help researchers and industrialist to understand the interactions of UV radiation with biological material.