Comparison of bioactive compounds, chemical properties and physicalproperties of Dawk Kha rice flour and wheat flour

Thailand has produced less wheat flour than ever before. The reason behind this is the increased manufacturing costs of approximately 3.6%, making wheat flour prices go up even higher. In order to address this problem, this research aimed to replace wheat flour with Dawk Kha rice flour as a more inexpensive alternative. Thus, the objectives of this research study were to determine and compare the bioactive compounds, chemical properties, and physical properties of Dawk Kha rice flour and wheat flour to determine if Dawk Kha rice flour is an acceptable flour alternative. The chemical properties of Dawk Kha rice flour possessed a higher content of ash, carbohydrates, dietary fiber, and fat when compared to wheat flour. However, wheat flour tended to contain higher protein content, amylose, and water activity. While measurement of moisture content revealed that the moisture of Dawk Kha rice flour (11.1%) was not significantly different compared with wheat flour (11.4%). Regarding the physical properties of wheat flour and Dawk Kha rice flour, wheat flour seemed to be lighter in color, ranging from white to light yellow, contain fine powder, have agreeable odor characteristics, and free of any impurities. To investigate the starch pasting properties of the two types of flour, the rapid visco analyser (RVA)method was applied. Dawk Kha rice flour began to be cooked at 87°C, whereas wheat flour was at 81°C, making Dawk Kha rice flour more retrogradable than wheat flour. Finally, there was a statistically significant difference (P<0.05) between bioactive compounds (phenolic compounds and anthocyanin compounds) between Dawk Kha rice flour and wheat flour. Based on this research, Dawk Kha rice flour can be used as an alternative flour source within the food industry, in bakery products, rice-flour noodles, nutritional enrichment for functional food and to serve as basic information for further application