Impact of pulsed electric fields treatment on oat flour properties

This thesis aimed to investigate the impact of Pulsed Electric Fields (PEF) treatment on oat flour properties. Two types of oat flour, namely raw (ROF) and thermally processed (TPOF), were characterised and subjected to PEF treatment at varying levels of electric field strength (2.0–2.2 and 4.0–4.5 kV/cm) and specific energy input (48–53, 200–249, 418–484 kJ/kg). The physicochemical and functional properties of PEF-treated whole flour and the resulting flour “fractions” were evaluated. The commercial thermal treatment (kilning at 115 °C for 30 min and steam-cooking at 100–104 °C for 18 min) applied on oat flour (TPOF) highly influenced its physicochemical and functional properties. Compared to ROF, TPOF had significantly (p