Effect of Peroxidase on the Physico-chemical, Rheological Properties of Whole Wheat Flour Dough, and Quality Attributes of Chapati and Its Health Benefits

Additives are added to wheat flour to improve the quality of its products. Enzymes are preferred as additives over chemical agents, as they are safe and natural. Few studies indicate that incorporation of peroxidase in wheat flour influences the bread quality, however, no report is available on its influence on whole wheat flour and on chapati quality and hence, a study has been carried out on the effect of peroxidase on the protein characteristics and rheological properties of whole wheat flour dough, chapati quality and its health benefits. In the present study, addition of peroxidase to whole wheat flour increased water absorption, dough stability and overall quality of chapatis. Peroxidase treatment increased the puffed height of chapatis by 0.6 cm. Increase in disulfide content resulted in increase of molecular weight of non-gluten proteins on peroxidase treatment of the dough. However, no significant difference was observed in protein digestibility of chapatis, while glycemic index of chapatis prepared from peroxidase treated dough was significantly lower compared to that of control chapatis. Thus, peroxidase treatment improved the quality of chapatis and also the health benefits.