Enzymatic treatments on pigeon pea for better milling characteristics

Pre-milling treatments for pigeon pea are generally employed to loosen the seed coat to remove husk without losing any edible portion. The effect of four enzymatic hydrolysis parameters viz., enzyme concentration (20–60 mg/ 100 g dry matter), incubation time (3-15 h), incubation temperature (40-60 0C) and tempering water pH (4.0-6.0) on hulling efficiency, protein content and cooking time were optimized using response surface methodology. Three enzymes, i.e., xylanase, pectinase, and cellulase were used in combination for enzymatic pre-treatment. It predicted a maximum dehulling efficiency 88.37 %, protein content 21.57 % and cooking time 21.91 min at enzyme concentration; 37.80 mg/100 g dry matter, incubation time, 8.69 min, incubation temperature, 48.5 0C and tempering water pH, 5.49. Dehulling efficiency, protein content and cooking time at optimum condition was observed to be 88.12 %, 21.81% and 21.50 min, respectively. The predicted values of hulling efficiency, protein content and cooking time showed 0.28, 1.10 and 2.19 % deviation from the experimental values, respectively.