ABSTRACT: Bran is the outermost layer, accounting for almost 25% of the overall grain weight. It is primarily constituted of dietary fiber and protein. It has adverse effects on dough characteristics; bread loaf volume, color, texture, and flavor. Nevertheless, wheat bran is eliminated during processing, resulting in a loss of nutritious content. Some modifications of wheat bran can influence the quality of flour dough and baking products. This study investigates the effects of addition of wheat bran that will be subjected to different treatments including Acid treatment (T2) that will be followed by enzymatic treatment (T4). Moist heat treatment (T3) that will be applied followed with enzymatic treatment (T5) and for control without any modification (T1). Bran treatments will be mixed in different ratio with flour 5, 10, 20 and 30% (L1, L2, L3 and L4) and dough rheological properties will be evaluated. Wheat bran modification exhibits significant potential for wheat flour dough. The treatments applied (Acidic, moist heat and enzymatic) were found to significantly change the physical and rheological properties of wheat bran, resulting to improvement in swelling power, water holding capacity and rheological test. Among wheat bran treatments; Acid-Enzymatic treatment (T4) showed the best performing results, significantly increasing in swelling power, water holding capacity, good extensibility and strength of dough. Acid-Enzymatic treatment (T4) is more suitable for mixing with food products and moist heat – enzymatic (T5) is the least preferable treatment showing the lowest dough quality and parameters. Wheat bran concentration levels most preferable was for L2 and L3 (10 and 20 %) treatments that may extend the application of wheat bran in high fibers bakery products and functional food, through improving textural and nutritional benefits without compromising products quality.

 2. Effect of Cactus Powdered Flour on the Functional and Sensory Characteristics of Pasta

 ABSTRACT: This study investigated the functional and sensory properties of pasta fortified with cactus (Opuntia species) powdered flour, both in its unmodified state and after lactic acid modification. The research aimed to assess the impact of cactus concentration and lactic acid treatment on water holding capacity (WHC), freeze-thaw stability (FTS), apparent viscosity, swelling power (SP), solubility index (SI), antioxidant activity, total phenolic content (TPC), total flavonoid content (TFC), water uptake, cooking loss, and sensory attributes of the resulting pasta. WHC was significantly influenced by temperature, cactus concentration, and flour modification. Unmodified samples demonstrated an increase in WHC from 67% to 170% as cactus concentration and temperature rose (25–55 °C), while modified samples showed reduced WHC, particularly at 10% and 15% concentrations. At 55 °C, unmodified 15% cactus flour had a WHC of 170 ± 0.56%, whereas the modified equivalent dropped to 75 ± 0.98%, indicating a significant reduction (p < 0.05) due to modification. FTS results showed no significant difference (p > 0.05) between modified and unmodified samples across three cycles. Syneresis values ranged from 7.5% to 11.2%, with unmodified 5% flour recording the lowest at 7.5 ± 0.49% in cycle 3. Modified samples had slightly higher syneresis, though not statistically significant. Apparent viscosity decreased sharply with increasing shear rate (6–60 rpm), especially in modified samples. For instance, modified 10% cactus flour showed lower viscosity across all rpm values, attributed to amylopectin degradation from lactic acid treatment. SP significantly increased with temperature. Unmodified 15% cactus flour reached an SP of 7.0 ± 0.07 at 90 °C, compared to 5.1 ± 0.17 for the modified counterpart. SI showed a significant increase in modified flours at 10% and 15%, confirming structural breakdown of starches by acid hydrolysis. Antioxidant activity was confirmed using DPPH scavenging assay. Inhibition % increased with extract concentration; peaking at 750 µL. TPC was 59 ± 6.75 mg GAE/g flour, while TFC was 2.875 ± 0.437 mg QE/g, indicating notable antioxidant potential in cactus flour. Pasta quality assessments demonstrated that modified samples had lower water uptake (113% at 5%) and cooking loss (2.50% at 10%) than the unmodified ones (145% water uptake and 3.80% cooking loss at 5% and 10%, respectively). All cooking losses remained below the acceptable 8% limit. Sensory evaluation showed that unmodified 5% cactus pasta maintained acceptable scores across attributes, with overall liking of 6.41 and flavor at 6.07, not significantly different from the control (7.70 and 7.04, respectively). However, at 10% cactus concentration, overall liking dropped significantly to 4.22 (unmodified) and 3.62 (modified), and flavor declined to 3.74 and 3.29, respectively (p < 0.05), indicating consumer preference limitations at higher inclusion levels. The use of unmodified cactus flour at 5% concentration presents a viable functional ingredient for cereal-based products, enhancing water retention, antioxidant capacity, and maintaining acceptable sensory properties. Lactic acid modification, while effective in altering viscosity and structural characteristics, negatively impacts sensory quality and WHC, warranting optimization for specific applications.

 3. Effects of Adding Chickpea and Lupine to Sourdough Starter on some of its functional properties. 

 ABSTRACT: The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of lupins and chickpeas on the functionality of gluten-free and sourdough products when added to sourdough bread production. Whole lupin and chickpea sourdough were prepared and blended with rice flour and corn flour at different levels (10%, 20%, and 30%) to improve gluten-free products. All samples were compared with ordinary wheat flour (100%) based on LAB (lactic acid bacteria), total plate count (TPC), mold, and yeasts. The results showed an increase in LAB growth in sourdough made from chickpeas and lupine compared to wheat flour. The highest microbial cell count was recorded in chickpea sourdough samples at 9.8 Log CFU/g, compared to lupin and wheat flour. Furthermore, chickpea sourdough had a greater effect on yeast growth, with 7.32 Log CFU/g compared to lupin sourdough (6.38 Log CFU/g) and wheat flour (4.35 Log CFU/g). Adding chickpea and lupin sourdough to gluten-free products like corn flour and rice flour also enhanced water-holding capacity. Samples containing chickpea sourdough showed 342.7 ml, while lupin sourdough demonstrated 356.6 ml, both surpassing wheat flour (337.6 ml at 55°C). In terms of rheological properties, the sourdough samples exhibited different behavior compared to wheat flour. Both chickpea and lupin sourdoughs showed high viscosity at low shear rates, which decreased significantly as shear rates increased, indicating non-Newtonian shear-thinning behavior. Chickpea sourdough had initially high viscosity, which reduced with higher shear rates, a characteristic valuable for applications requiring viscosity control in food production. For freezing stability, chickpea and lupin sourdough samples outperformed wheat flour. The best water-holding capacity was observed in samples like corn flour + 30% chickpea sourdough and corn flour + 20% lupin sourdough. For instance, the freezing capacity of the 30% chickpea flour samples was 32.1 after three cycles, compared to 25.2 for rice flour samples. Improved sensory properties were also noted, with the highest taste (5.66) and texture (5.33) scores achieved in the 70% rice flour + 30% lupin sourdough mixture. Overall, the study confirms that chickpea and lupine flour positively improves functional and nutritional quality of sourdough starters without jeopardizing microbial stability. The findings support the use of legumes in sourdough-based functional food and suggest an affirmative means of improving bakery product nutrition quality with natural plant materials.

4. Effects of the Nixtamalization Treatment of Bitter Lupine Seeds on its Bioactive and Functional Properties. 

 ABSTRACT: Nixtamalization is usually performed on grains by cooking in an alkaline solution to improve the final product characteristics. White bitter lupine (Lupinus albus) seeds were nixtamalized at various concentration of calcium hydroxide in the range of 0.16–3.33% at 50, 70, and 90°C for 35 min and steeped for 0, 8, 16, and 24 h, and the moisture uptake was determined to model seed hydration kinetics. Moisture uptake increased with increasing nixtamalization temperature regardless of calcium hydroxide concentration. The Page and Weibull models adequately described white bitter lupine hydration kinetics during nixtamalization. Model parameters Kp (Page model) and α (Weibull model) ranged from 80.2 to 410.03 and from 88.21 and 93.96, respectively, for nixtamalization at different calcium hydroxide concentrations, and from 58.55 to 662.88 and from 68.74 and 132.99, respectively, for nixtamalization at different temperatures. The cracks were visible in the microstructure of nixtamalized seed coats. Their number and size increased with the increase in processing temperature, calcium hydroxide concentration, and steeping duration. Overall, the presented results may be useful in optimizing the industrial nixtamalization of lupine seeds and increasing the possibility of their use as a valuable food ingredient. White bitter lupine seeds used in this study were characterized for each 100g (d.b) by a moisture content of 6.47±0.13, 41.69±0.54 of proteins, 14.23±1.09 fat, 3.34±0.2 ash, and a negligible starch percentage. Selected samples (samples treated at 50°C and 90°C) were tested to determine the effects of the nixtamalization process of bitter lupine flour on physical, chemical, and rheological scales without taking in consideration that cooked at 70°C. Significant improvement in the water holding capacity from 137.51% for the raw lupine to up than 200% of the sample treated at highly extreme temperature (90°C), no significance obtained on the freeze-thaw stability of the samples cooked at 50°C and 90°C, the more stable samples are that cooked at 50°C and steeped for 8h (freeze thaw values ranged from 16.65 to 17.76 around five cycles). Solubility increase and swelling power decrease by increasing temperature. The chemical compound researched including alkaloids, total phenolic compounds, flavonoids and DPPH scavenging activity significant decrease in the function of lime, temperature, and steeping durations (values ranged for control sample and the sample treated at extreme condition are: 1.08±0.01 to 0.39±0.01, and 510.95±1.40 to 338.64±2.81 mg GAE/100g, 254.50±2.89 to 122.35±6.74 mg QE/100g and 29.28±0.01 to 13.40±0.28 % of inhibition respectively) Also, at highly extreme conditions, the nixtamalization process induces the disappearance of albumin and globulins fraction bands in SDS PAGE. On the rheological side, the same trend of viscosity was observed on all the tested samples by increasing the shear rate including the non-treated sample. The nixtamalization process induces significant improvement in most farinograph parameters. Finally, the most important values of pasting parameters were recorded on the samples treated with 0g and 2g of calcium hydroxide, cooked at 50°C, and steeped for 16h

 5. Effects of sprouting conditions of selected grains on the functional characteristics of these grains and their flours

 ABSTRACT: In the current study, germination, fermentation, and their combined synergistic effect are examined in relation to the functional characteristics of barley, corn, and wheat as well as their glucose syrups, which are regarded as vital ingredients in the human diet and food production. Three temperatures (20°C, 30°C, and 35°C) and three sprouting times (48, 72, and 96 hours) were used to test the germination of barley, corn, and wheat. The germination of the grains was followed by milling and fermentation with lactic acid bacteria. In addition to phenolic compounds, pasting and viscosity measures, gel strength, water holding capacity, rheological studies, freeze-thaw stability, and glucose content, a number of other parameters were examined. The study's findings show that germination, fermentation, and combination treatment all have a substantial impact on the level of phenols, with the content of phenols rising after fermentation and falling after germination. Notably, the synergistic combination of both treatments led to a higher phenol content than each treatment alone. In particular, the score for fermented barley was 1280.6, while the value for unfermented barley was 586.1. Similar results were seen for corn, where the values for the fermented and unfermented samples were 966.7 and 780.6, respectively. For wheat, the results for the fermented and unfermented samples were 852.8 and 655.6, respectively. The fermented control samples with no germination revealed the lowest results, with values of 41.7, while all of these values were derived from samples that had been germinated at 30 oC for 96 hours. Pasting properties and viscosity measurements, peak, trough, final viscosity, breakdown and setback were studied, and they showed improvements due to both fermentation and germination. For barley and wheat, the highest values were observed in the fermented samples germinated at 35°C for 96 hours, while for corn, the highest values were for fermented samples germinated at 20°C for 96 hours. The fermentation process played a significant role in these measurements. However, samples that underwent fermentation or germination showed a little reduction in gel strength. With a maximum load value of 61, the control non-fermented samples showed the strongest gel strength for barley, as opposed to 17 for the fermented non-germinated control. No gel had formed after 72 hours of germination at 20°C, and the area under the curve for the control non-fermented barley was 133.6 rather than 32 for the fermented non-germinated barley. Interestingly, the germinated non-fermented samples produced no gel at all, indicating that the fermentation process significantly affects the strength of the gel in barley, especially when compared to the effects of germination. Water holding capacity was adversely affected by both treatments. For barley, the control groups for both fermented and non-fermented treatments exhibited the highest values, with 238.6 and 241.1, respectively. Conversely, the fermented group germinated at 30°C for 48 hours and showed the lowest value of 200.7, while the non-fermented group germinated at 35°C for 96 hours and had a value of 217.8. For corn, the highest values were recorded in the control group, with values of 253 and 268.4 in the fermented and non-fermented treatments, respectively. The fermented group germinated at 30°C for 72 hours and showed the lowest value of 204.8, while the non-fermented group germinated at 30°C for 72 hours and had a value of 245.2. Wheat had the highest values in the fermented and non-fermented groups germinating at 20°C for 96 hours, with values of 203.1 and 215, respectively, but these values did not show significant differences from the controls. The lowest values were recorded in the fermented group germinated at 35°C for 48 hours, with a value of 187.7, while the non-fermented group germinated at 35°C for 72 hours had a value of 191. Freeze-thaw stability was enhanced in germinated treatments, indicating better resistance to freezing and thawing, while fermentation diminished the stability of flours. Barley exhibited a higher syneresis value of 5.8 after 3 cycles in the fermented control (non-germinated) condition, whereas the lowest syneresis value of 1.5 was observed for non-fermented barley germinated at 30°C for 96 hours. For corn, the highest syneresis after 3 cycles was 4.8 in the non-fermented control (non-germinated) condition, while the lowest syneresis value of 2.4 was recorded for non-fermented corn germinated at 30°C for 96 hours. Regarding wheat, after 3 cycles, the highest syneresis was 5.2 in the fermented control (non-germinated) condition, whereas the lowest syneresis value of 1.3 was observed for non-fermented wheat germinated at 30°C for 96 hours. Sprouting temperature and fermentation played the most significant role in the grains' stability against freezing and thawing cycles.