Effects of particle size on physiochemical and in vitro digestion properties of durum wheat bran

In order to promote the potential health benefits of high fibre products, wheat bran is the main focus of the food industry. The physiochemical and in vitro digestion properties of wheat bran containing different particle size were investigated and compared against raw bran samples. Firstly, the bran sample containing superfine particles (11.63 mu m) was hydrolyzed by the alpha-amylase, pepsin, and pancreatin enzymes separately using a single factor and orthogonal test. Secondly, optimized hydrolysis parameters of superfine particles were employed to measure in vitro digestibility of macronutrients in raw, coarse, medium, and superfine bran particles. The maximum degree of hydrolysis obtained via alpha-Amylase (concentration 10 mg mL(-1), pH 6.6, and time 12.5 min) was 55.71%; pepsin (concentration 50 mg mL(-1), pH 1.2, and time 9 h) was 82.10%; and pancreatin (concentration 100 mg mL(-1), pH 7.0 and time 12 h) was 84.71%, respectively. The highest in vitro digestibility rate of reducing sugar, protein, fat, and soluble fibre content was observed in superfine bran samples to 33.4%, 82.55%, 91.53%, and 21.66%, respectively.