Cold plasma-assisted buckwheat grain dehulling and farinographical properties of dehulled buckwheat flour

The process of dehulling buckwheat grain should lead to less breaking of the buckwheat grain and improve the whole kernel recovery rate. However, heat treatment-based delhulling is associated with starch gelatinization, protein denaturation, and degradation of flavonoids. This study investigated a cold plasma-based rapid dehulling technology by analyzing the farinographical properties of dehulled buckwheat flour (BF). Cold plasma treatment-mediated etching and dehydration created cracks and pores on the surface of the hull, and the gap between the hull and the kernel increased, resulting in a decrease of the critical damage force of the hull by 58.3%. Compared with heat treatment, significant changes were observed in solubility, swelling power, color, iodine blue values, fatty acid and flavonoid contents, and crystal structure in cold plasma-treated dehulled BF. In conclusion, cold plasma can be used as an ancillary method of dehulling buckwheat for the production of high-quality BF. [Display omitted] •Cold plasma treatment can reduce the critical damage force of buckwheat hull by 58.3%.•Cold plasma treatment did not affect the farinographic properties of dehulled buckwheat flour.•Cold plasma treatment can retain the content of flavonoids and total phenols in dehulled buckwheat flour.