Effect of Chlorine Treatment on Wheat Flour and Starch: Measurement of Thermal Properties by Differential Scanning Calorimetry

Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) was used to study the effect of chlorine treatment of wheat flour on the heat of gelatinization of the wheat flour and starch. The DSC thermograms were corrected for heat capacity changes and thermal lag. An endothermic transition occurred in both flours and starches at a temperature commonly associated with starch gelatinization. The enthalpy (ΔH) for the starches was concentration dependent. The chlorine treatment did not affect significantly the transition temperatures nor enthalpies of either the flour or the starch isolated from it. Addition of sucrose delayed the onset of gelatinization and increased the ΔH for both treated and untreated wheat flours and starches.