Effect of mixing conditions on the behavior of lipoxygenase, peroxidase, and catalase in wheat flour doughs

The effect of mixing has been tested on the extractable activities of lipoxygenase, peroxidase, and catalase from dough after 2, 5, and 20 min of mixing, and 30 min of rest period after 20 min of mixing. Different mixing conditions have been studied including temperature, atmosphere, speed, amount of water added to the dough, buffer solutions between pH 3.6 and 7.5 added to the dough, and different additives (linoleic acid, guaiacol, hydrogen peroxide, ascorbic acid, cysteine, yeast, and sodium chloride). In all the mixing conditions tested, the dough peroxidase activity remains equivalent to the initial flour activity, whereas losses in lipoxygenase and catalase activities largely varied according to mixing conditions. The results show that a self-destruction mechanism as well as physicochemical denaturation are responsible for these losses. Lipoxygenase losses seem mainly associated with the former mechanism, whereas catalase losses are highly increased in acidic conditions (physicochemical denaturation). Therefore, the relative impact of the three oxidoreducing enzymes may be largely modulated by mixing conditions.