History, mechanism of action, and toxicity: a review of commonly used dough rheology improvers

Abstract

Dough rheology improvers, which often are oxidative reagents in nature, have long been used in bread-making industry to enhance protein crosslinking and subsequently improve the dough rheological properties and bread qualities. Numerous studies were conducted to explore the effects of these oxidative agents on dough quality improving, however, the underlying mechanism of their action during dough development has not been fully understood. Due to the public health concerns, multiple oxidative reagents were banned in some countries across the world, while others are still permitted in accordance with regulations. Therefore, a comprehensive understanding of their application, significance, and safety in bread manufacturing is necessary. This review aims to provide a detailed information about the evolutionary history of several commonly used oxidants acting as dough rheology improvers, their mechanisms of action, as well as their potential toxicity.

Keywords:

• Ascorbic acid
• azodicarbonamide
• dough rheology improvers
• peroxides
• potassium bromate
• potassium iodate

Acknowledgment

The authors are grateful to Chih-chen Wang in the Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, for her support and encouragement in our research.

Disclosure statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (31801482) and the National Key Research and Development Program of China (2019YFC1605000).