Wheat Flour Enzymatic Amylolysis Monitored by in Situ 1H NMR Spectroscopy

Starch enzymatic degradation caused by endogenous hydrolases is studied by in situ NMR
spectroscopy on a set of hard and soft wheat flours. The results obtained by two different techniques
(HR-MAS and 1H NMR in solution) are analyzed in terms of a Michaelis-Menten kinetic phenomenological
model taking into account the presence of endogenous enzymes and their eventual
inactivation. The parameters resulting from the best fit of all experimental data to the kinetic model
equations are submitted to a multivariate statistical analysis to assess the role of the oligosaccharides
release in distinguishing between hard and soft wheats.