Monitoring of wheat flour aging process using traditional methods and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy coupled with chemometrics

Wheat flour aging process is considered very important to impart desirable changes in order to get good quality bakery products. It was extensively studied through analytical and rheological variations during storage using conventional methods. In this study, the potential of Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) was determined to monitor the process of wheat aging. FTIR spectroscopy along with chemometrics tools like principal component analysis (PCA) and partial least square regression (PLSR) were used to monitor the aging process of wheat flour during the storage period of two months at room temperature. PCA subjected to spectral, analytical and rheological parameters during storages showed the clear demarcation of wheat flour stored at various intervals using first 2 PCs. PLSR showed the best prediction models for crude protein (R-2 (CV) = 0.97 and 0.11 RMSECV) and wet gluten contents (R-2 (CV) = 0.88 and 0.41 RMSECV), whereas the other analytical parameters were not accurately predicted from FTIR spectral data. However, it can be concluded that FTIR spectroscopy can be used as an alternative tool to predict the changes in wheat flour during the aging process.