The present study deals with the application of low temperature plasma on basmati rice flour and its effect on functional properties such as gel hydrations properties, flour hydration properties, gelatinization temperatures and antioxidant properties. The water holding capacity and water binding capacity were observed to be increased with increase in plasma power and time of treatment as the air plasma is known to make the surface more hydrophilic. XRD analysis revealed there is no significance difference in the crystalline structure after the plasma treatment. DSC shows a decrease in peak temperatures (Tp) after the treatment. Hot paste viscosities were observed to be decease from 692 to 591 BU was corresponded to decrease in peak temperature. The total polyphenolic content and reducing power was observed to be increased. The effects of plasma treatment on functional groups of polyphenols were observed by changes in absorption intensities using FTIR. This study demonstrates that the low temperature plasma treatmentis capable of improving the functional properties of basmati rice.
Keywords: Depolymerization; Hydrophilicity; Low temperature plasma; Phenolic compounds; Rice flour.