percentage
of gelatinised starch (Fig. 2C and D). This confirms the observation
of Lund (1989) that starch gelatinisation follows first-order
kinetics and is dependent on temperature. Dough moisture content
inside the extruder exerted a significant effect (p < 0.01) on percentage
of gelatinised starch (Table 3). Increasing moisture from
34% to 40% or decreasing moisture from 34% to 30% led to an
increase in percentage of gelatinised starch (Fig. 2C and D). Processing
under conditions of low moisture (below 34%) may restrict
the material flow inside the extruder barrel, resulting in increased
frictional effects and viscosity of the starch mass. As a result,