The inactivation of lipoxygenase (LOX) in the whole soya bean prevents lipid oxidation that produces an off‐flavour of soya food. The inactivation of lipoxygenase in the whole soya bean by pulsed light (PL) was examined with three distances (5, 7 and 9 cm) from the PL strobe and for different durations. Soya bean was treated with PL with and without ice surrounding the soya bean sample tray for limiting the rise in sample temperature. Results show that without ice surrounding the sample tray, the lowest LOX residual activity was 4.7%, 0.4% and 0.0% for 80‐s duration at 5 cm distance from the PL strobe, 110 s at 7 cm from the strobe and 150 s at 9 cm from the strobe, respectively; the soya bean temperature after treatment was 109.6, 116.3 and 114.8 °C, respectively. The instantaneous temperatures of the soya bean core measured during PL operating were above 100 °C. The lipoxygenase band was disappeared after longest PL treatments of each distance compared with the LOX band control as assessed by electrophoresis. The pulsed light had no negative effect on peroxide value of produced soya milk. However, PL reduced significantly the total solid amount and changed the colour of the produced soya milk. The residual activity with sample cooling by ice during treatment was 79.0%, 98.8% and 95.7%, with sample temperatures of 81.7, 91.2 and 66.9 °C, respectively. This study indicates that PL illumination could fully inactivate LOX in whole soya beans, with the photo‐thermal effect of PL as the main factor responsible for the inactivation of LOX.

Yasemin and Anber are the main rice varieties cultivated in Iraq. Anber is the favorite variety in Iraq because of its unique flavor, and Yasemin is the most cultivated variety. Determining the suitable moisture content of both varieties to produce high extraction rate (lowest rice breakage), good rice whiteness, and the best rice quality in terms of cooked properties was the purpose of this study. Moisture content (MC) (10%, 12%, 14%, 16%) of Yasemin and Anber were used, and targeted whiteness (32, 34, and 36) were obtained by using different milling times. Results showed that the best moisture content was 14% for Yasemin variety and 10% for Anber variety in terms of extraction rate. Process time increasing led to reduction of extraction rate and increased rice whiteness. The highest extraction rate of Yasemin and Anber was 56% and 64% with 32 whiteness, respectively. Kernel breakage had opposite relationship with extraction rate. Yasemin and Anber varieties were classified as short grain rice depending on their length. The maximum elongation was at 16% MC for Yasemin variety and at 10% MC for Anber variety, which increased 60% more than uncooked rice. There was no definite pattern observed for increasing rice volume (width and weight). In conclusion, the extraction rate of Yasemin and Anber varieties was increased at 14% and 10% MC, respectively. For cooked properties, 10% MC of Anber was the best in terms of rice elongation, while 16% MC was the best for Yasemin variety.

Inactivation of soybean lipoxygenase in soymilk by pulsed light (PL) at different durations and distances from the pulsed light lamp was determined with and without ice surrounding the soymilk sample tray for cooling. The results show that without cooling, the lowest LOX residual activity was 0.37%, 0.00%, and 7.24%, and with cooling the LOX residual activity was 76.3%, 87.2%, and 69.0% for origin fluence of 302 J/cm2, 340 J/cm2, and 567 J/cm2, respectively. The LOX band reduced or disappeared after PL treatments compared with the LOX band control as assessed by electrophoresis. Peroxide value of the soymilk had no significant increase after pulsed light treatment. This research provided evidence that PL treatment could fully inactivate LOX in soymilk, mostly due to heat generated by the PL strobe, therefore the photo-thermal effect was the main factor that impacted LOX activity.

The pulsed light (PL) technique is used for food and surface decontamination widely. The sterilization effect of PL is well known and identified as the photochemical effect. Besides, PL is used to inactivate enzymes, reduce the immunoreactivity of proteins, and change protein function properties at a laboratory level. The current study aims to review the effect of PL on proteins by highlighting the differences between proteins in buffer solutions or food systems. Although PL is known as a nonthermal technique, most studies done on food systems, food temperature raised considerably. Therefore, PL inactivated many enzymes in buffer solution non-thermally, while mostly with a high increase in temperature of a food system. PL reduced food allergens several folds in some foods. However, immunoreactivity responses of some protein were increased after PL treatment. Also, the current study covers the conformational changes of proteins that occur because of PL treatment. Therefore, some techniques used to follow proteins structural changes such as polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE), high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), etc. were defined. Studies reported that PL altered proteins structure differently. For example, some studies reported that PL degraded some proteins, while other studies suggested that PL aggregated proteins. Also, there were contrary results regarding ahelix and ß-sheet concentration for the treated proteins. In conclusion, some techniques, such as amino acid sequencing, specially when some small new fragments proteins appeared on SDS-PAGE, should be used to detect the effect of PL on proteins precisely.

Iraqi domestic wheat quantity increased dramatically during the last two years, and the Iraqi government is looking for self-sufficiency in wheat production. However, the quality of the wheat flour is more important than the quantity in terms of making the final product. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the quality of Iraqi domestic wheat. Also, the study aimed to conduct the correlation between the chemical and rheological properties of flour samples. The study included 29 flour samples. The results showed that protein content was 10.2 ± 0.4%, gluten content was 19.6 ± 5.0%, gluten index was 73.2 ± 29.8%, and the falling number was 610 ± 89s. Rheological properties were ranged from 1.8 to 9.5min for the stability, 50 to 260BU for the degree of softening (DoS), zero to 78cm2 for the energy, and 4 to 220mm for the extensibility. The highest correlation was between the gluten index and the Farinograph and Extensiograph parameters. Gluten index was highly correlated to DoS (r = -0.87, p < 0.0001), followed by extensibility (r = 0.76, p < 0.0001), stability (r = 0.72, p < 0.0001), and energy (r = 0.66, p < 0.0001). The correlation between other studied chemical properties, protein and gluten content, and most rheological parameters was non-significant. In conclusion, Iraqi domestic wheat quality was varied, from very runny to moderate. The gluten index was a precise parameter can be used to predict wheat quality. Therefore, Iraqi wheat breeders should be strongly considered the wheat quality in their work in addition to the quantity.