Influence of Moisture Content on Physicomechanical Properties, Starch-Protein Microstructure and Fractal Parameter of Oat Groats

Abstract

AbstractThis study was performed to investigate the influence of moisture content on physicomechanical properties, starch-protein microstructure and fractal parameter of oat groats. Selected physical properties were determined as a function of moisture content. The results showed that moisture content had a significant effect on these characteristics. Majority of physical properties increased linearly with moisture content ranged from 11.8 % to 27.0 %, while mechanical properties decreased nonlinearly as third power function in the above range. Moreover, the increasing granule size, less gaps and more contact points can be observed in the microstructure of starch-protein network with high moisture. Meanwhile, high moisture content also resulted in that fractal parameter of oat section increased from 2.6891 to 2.8001 significantly. These moisture-dependent characteristics are useful in further study of oat groats and the heuristic methods used in this study may be extrapolated to other varieties of cereal.