Steam Explosion Pretreatment for Improving Wheat Bran Extrusion Capacity

Extrusion improves the texture of wheat bran and enhances its product edibility, making it a promising processing method. However, the extrusion performance of wheat bran without any treatment is not satisfactory and limits the utilization of wheat bran in food processing. In this study, steam explosion pretreatment was used to treat wheat bran to investigate its promotion of wheat bran extrusion. The results showed that steam explosion could increase the extrusion ratio of wheat bran extrudate by 36%. Grinding the steam-exploded wheat bran extrudate yields wheat bran flour with smaller particle sizes and higher cell wall breakage. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and chemical composition results revealed that steam explosion degraded insoluble dietary fiber and disrupted the dense structure of the cell wall in wheat bran. The water-extracted arabinoxylan and soluble dietary fiber content of steam-exploded wheat bran were 13.95% and 7.47%, respectively, improved by 1567.42% and 241.75% compared to untreated samples. The total phenol and flavonoid contents, water solubility index, and cation exchange capacity of steam-exploded wheat bran extrudate were all superior to raw wheat bran extrudate. In summary, this study demonstrates that steam explosion improves the extrusion capacity of wheat bran and facilitates its utilization.