Exploration of the functional properties of hydrothermally treated Canary seed (Phalaris canariensis L.) flour for food applications

• Hydrothermal treatment (HT) affected the functional properties of canary seeds significantly. • HT affected mean particle size, damaged starch content, and water absorption capacity. • HT affected the starch pasting and thermal properties of flours. • Nutritionally, the HT significantly improved in vitro protein digestibility of flour. • HT eliminated the microbial load present in the raw hairless Canary seed flour. This research investigated the changes in physiochemical and techno-functional properties, protein nutritional quality, and microbial properties of Canary seed flour following hydrothermal treatment. Four hairless Canary seeds were dehulled, steamed, dried, and ground to flour. The hydrothermal treatment increased the mean particle size (∼80 %), damaged starch content (∼260 %), and water absorption capacity (∼46 %), while not affecting the flour’s acidity (pH ∼6.4), bulk density (∼0.6 g/mL), or oil absorption capacity (∼2.0 %). Hydrothermal treatment affected all the pasting and thermal properties of Canary seed flour except for the pasting temperature. Nutritionally, the treatment significantly improved in vitro protein digestibility, although it did not affect protein content (∼20.0 %), amino acid content, amino acid score (0.3 – 0.5), or in vitro protein digestibility corrected amino acid score (in vitro PDCAAS) (0.2 – 0.4). Most importantly, heat treatment significantly enhanced the microbial quality by eliminating the microbial load in the raw Canary seed flour, ensuring the safety of the product. Our results suggest that hydrothermally treated canary seed flour has improved physicochemical and functional properties, making it a better substitute than its raw counterpart.