PHYSICOCHEMICAL CHARACTERIZATION OF PRETREATMENT BY REACTIVE EXTRUSION OF MAIZE LIGNOCELLULOSIC PULP AIMING SYNTHESIS OF CARBOXYMETHYL CELLULOSE
Zea mays, Particles properties, Dietary fiber, Multivariate analysis
Corn fiber (CF) is an undervalued co-product of the corn starch and corn milling industry. 18 Similar to CF, sieving is also important in the cereal industry and should receive sufficient 19 scientific attention. Thus, the aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of particle size on 20 the techno-functional and physicochemical properties of CF as an alternative to fiber-rich raw 21 materials for the food industry. Granulometry showed low uniformity (0.34) and low span 22 (0.93), which could affect processing and product quality. The coarser fractions had lower 23 density, solubility, paste viscosity, color, protein, ash, lipid, phenolic compounds, and 24 antioxidant activity than the finer fractions. However, these coarse fractions had high porosity 25 (83%), water absorption (2.77 g gel/g), and dietary fiber content (75.56 g/100 g). All the 26 evaluated responses had 37 strong positive correlations and 34 strong negative correlations (p 27 < 0.01). In addition, principal component analysis at 91.09% of the total variance revealed 28 four distinct clusters that possessed similar characteristics in both techno-functional and 29 physicochemical properties. Coarse fractions could generate greater extraction yields of 30 hemicellulose and cellulose, whereas fine fractions could be excellent materials for the 31 production of foods with excellent nutritional and functional properties. 32 33 Keywords: