The destruction of vitamin e in flour by chlorine dioxide

Abstract

Abstract Chemical estimations of the tocopherols present in wheaten flours treated with chlorine dioxide, or untreated, have been made by a method which allows the separation of the different forms of the vitamin. The chlorine dioxide caused almost complete destruction of each of the tocopherols. Biological tests demonstrated that untreated flour, when included as the main component of the diet of rats, contains enough tocopherol to satisfy their requirements. Rats developed various signs of avitaminosis E, however, when they were given a similar diet containing flour which had been treated with chlorine dioxide. Enough tocopherol survived during the baking of bread from untreated flour to suffice the requirements of rats. Improvement with potassium bromate or ascorbic acid did not appear to decrease the tocopherol content of bread, but some destruction was caused by the aeration process of breadmaking.