Effect of thermal processing on debittering process and its impact on the functional properties of palmyrah young shoot flour

Abstract

Palmyrah young shoot is rich in starch and fiber and provides good glycemic control. Unfortunately, the consumption rate is limited by the presence of bitter and toxic compounds. Reported literatures reveal that thermal treatment especially dry heat processes like milling the flour at more than 80 °C had an impact on toxicity reduction rather than wet heat processes like boiling. As a result, the current study was aimed to investigate the combined effect of wet (boiling) and dry (radio frequency) heat processing on the debittering of young shoot flour in comparison with tray drying. In the study the flour obtained by a combination of boiling and drying was considered as treated flour and without boiling and drying was considered as untreated flour. The combined effect of wet and dry heat processing had an impact on the nutrients but had no effect on bitterness reduction. The study found tray dried untreated flour favored the feasibility of bitterness reduction as compared to other samples. The compounds (FlabelliferinsB, Flabelliferins–II, isomers of flabelliferins, and vitamin C) responsible for bitterness and its intensity were identified by FTMS. Furthermore, the study revealed that debittering process improved the functional properties of young shoot flour compared to raw flour.