Lipase inactivation in wheat germ by gamma irradiation

An attempt was made to improve the shelf life of wheat germ by optimizing processing conditions involving gamma-irradiation. Studies were carried out to investigate the effect of gamma-irradiation (0-30 kGy doses) on the chemical composition of wheat germ with respect to variation in moisture, total ash, crude fat, free fatty acid, protein and lipase activity. The results demonstrate that shelf stability of wheat germ was achieved by inactivation of lipase at doses of gamma-irradiation greater than 12 kGy. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.