Improvement of physicochemical properties of baked oatmeal (Avena sativa L.) by imbibition

Background and objectives: Oat (Avena sativa L.) consumption has increased mainly due to the health benefits as this cereal is an excellent source of prebiotics and high-nutritional compounds. In this work, an imbibition treatment was applied to improve the physicochemical properties of baked oat (Avena sativa L.) grains. Findings: Studied samples included flour from the grains imbibed, dried and baked at 120°C for 30 min (IT120), flour from grains without imbibition and baked at 120°C for 30 min (T120) and flour from raw grains (R). The protein and crude fiber content did not change with the treatments, but the lipids content decreased. The water absorption capacity (WAC) increased 1.14- and 2.6-folds for T120 and IT120, respectively, when compared to R. The rheological analysis demonstrated an important effect of the concentration and the imbibition processes as the viscosity values increased sixfold in IT120 at 30% solids content. Conclusions: The imbibition and baking treatment of whole oat grains resulted in structural rearrangements changing the physicochemical properties which could be useful when using these flours as an ingredient. Significance and novelty: The structural modification promoted by the imbibition and baking treatment could increase the potential applications of oat flour.