Variations of colour, polyphenol oxidase and peroxidase activities during the production of low temperature dried pasta in various durum wheat genotypes

This research was conducted to determine the effect of milling and pasta making on yellow pigment content, soluble brown pigment content, polyphenol oxidase (PPO) activity and peroxidase (POD) activity in semolina and pasta derived from ten durum genotypes. Results showed that pasta colour was impacted more by the milling than by pasta making. The loss of yellow pigment content, POD activity, PPO activity and soluble brown pigment content due to milling was 1.3x, 4.4x, 6.2x and 17.5x, respectively, greater than losses due to pasta making. Dry pasta contained 62%, 31%, 16% and 25% of the original yellow pigment content, brown pigment content and PPO activity and POD activity in the grain, respectively. Semolina yellow pigment content had a positive effect on pasta colour while semolina protein content, ash content and speck count had negative effects. These results indicate the importance of selecting genotypes that have high yellow pigment content and excellent milling qualities.

Automated summary

The research found that milling has a greater impact on pasta color than pasta making, with dry pasta retaining a significant amount of original content despite losses during processing. Selecting genotypes with high yellow pigment content and good milling qualities is crucial for producing high-quality pasta.