Effects of flour storage and heat generated during milling on starch, dietary fibre and polyphenols in stoneground flours from two durum-type wheats

Determination of o-quinones in foods by a derivative strategy combined with UHPLC-MS/MS

As primary polyphenol oxidant products, the occurrence of o-quinone is greatly responsible for quality deterioration in wine, including browning and aroma loss. The high reactivity of o-quinone causes huge difficulty in its determination. Herein, a derivative strategy combined with UHPLC-MS/MS analysis was established with chlorogenic acid quinone (CQAQ) and 4-methylcatechol quinone (4MCQ) as model compounds. Method validation demonstrated its efficiency for two analytes (R2 > 0.99, accuracy 98.71-106.39 %, RSD of precision 0.46-6.11 %, recovery 85.83-99.37 %). This approach was successfully applied to detect CQAQ and 4MCQ, suggesting its applicability in food analysis. CQAQ in coffee was much more than 4MCQ and with the deepening of baking degree, CQAQ decreased and 4MCQ increased. The amounts of CQAQ in various vegetables were markedly different, seemingly consistent with their respective browning degrees in practical production. This study developed an accurate and robust analytical approach for o-quinones, providing technical support for their further investigation in foods.

Factors Affecting the Nutritional, Health, and Technological Quality of Durum Wheat for Pasta-Making: A Systematic Literature Review

Durum wheat is one of the most important food sources in the world, playing a key role in human nutrition, as well as in the economy of the different countries in which its production areas are concentrated. Its grain also represents a staple and highly versatile ingredient in the development of health foods. Nonetheless, the aspects determining durum wheat's health quality and their interactions are many, complex, and not entirely known. Therefore, the present systematic literature review aims at advancing the understanding of the relationships among nutritional, health, and technological properties of durum wheat grain, semolina, and pasta, by evaluating the factors that, either positively or negatively, can affect the quality of the products. Scopus, Science Direct, and Web of Science databases were systematically searched utilising sets of keywords following the PRISMA guidelines, and the relevant results of the definitive 154 eligible studies were presented and discussed. Thus, the review identified the most promising strategies to improve durum wheat quality and highlighted the importance of adopting multidisciplinary approaches for such purposes.

Effect of radiation processing on phenolic antioxidants in cereal and legume seeds: A review

Phenolic compounds in cereal and legume seeds show numerous benefits to human health mainly because of their good antioxidant capacity. However, long-term storage and some improper preservation may reduce their antioxidant potential. It is necessary to retain or modify the phenolic antioxidants with improved technology before consumption. Radiation processing is usually applied as a physical method to extend the shelf life and retain the quality of plant produce. However, the effect of radiation processing on phenolic antioxidants in cereal and legume seeds is still not well understood. This review summarizes recent research on the effect of radiation, including ionizing and nonionizing radiation on the content and profile of phenolic compounds, and antioxidant activities in cereal and legume seeds, the influencing factors and possible mechanisms are also discussed. The article will improve the understanding of radiation effect on phenolic antioxidants, and promote the radiation modification of natural phenolic compounds in cereal and legume seeds and other sources.

Stone Milling versus Roller Milling in Soft Wheat (Part 2): Influence on Nutritional and Technological Quality of Products

Wholegrain soft wheat flours can be obtained by either roller milling or stone milling. In this paper, we report on the continuation of a study aimed at analysing compositional and technological differences between differently milled wholegrain flours. Eight mixes of soft wheat grains were stone milled and roller milled and the milling products analysed for their phytic acid, lipids composition to determine the presence of trans-fatty acids and damaged starch. A wholegrain flour milled with a laboratory disk mill was also analysed as comparison, as well as seven wholegrain flours purchased on the market. For phytic acid we found that that there is no compositional difference between a stone milled or a roller milled flour if the milling streams are all recombined: the milling streams instead have different amounts of phytic acid which is mainly present in the fine bran and coarse bran. It was not possible to highlight differences in the milling technology due to the presence of trans-fatty acids in the stone milled wholegrain flour whereas it was possible to find that starch damage depended on the milling method with stone milled wholegrain flours having in all cases significantly higher values than the roller milled ones.

The Effects of Storage Time and Environmental Storage Conditions on Flour Quality, Dough Rheology, and Biscuit Characteristics: The Case Study of a Traditional Italian Biscuit (Biscotto di Prato)

Many types of baked goods are firmly rooted in the food habits of many people in different countries. Although there have been great strides in improving milling, kneading, and baking, given the lack of essential studies, further steps forward need to be taken to understand the effects of storage time and environmental storage conditions, thus motivating this work. The aim of this study is to assess the effects of storage time, using one-way ANOVA, and environmental storage conditions (environmental temperature and humidity), using MOLS analysis, on flour composition, dough rheology, and biscuit characteristics. Seven levels of storage time were tested: T0 (control), T1, T2, T3, T4, T5, and T6. The results showed that flour storage time significantly increased dough tenacity (P) and curve configuration ratio (P/L), and decreased the biscuit volume (best at T0). However, 2–3 weeks of storage highlighted a significant increase in deformation energy (W), an essential alveograph parameter that is closely correlated to the technological success of leavened products. This optimum found for W might be considered as a great stride in understanding the effects of storage time, confirming that wheat flour can reach its optimal performance after two-three weeks of storage, in particular for W. Moreover, this information could be useful, not only for biscuits production, but also for bread and bakery products (and, thus, the entire bakery industry). MOLS analysis highlighted that dough rheology and biscuit characteristics are mainly affected by flour composition (primarily from starch content) rather than environmental storage parameters. In conclusion, to optimize the biscuit characteristics, it is necessary to use flours with a low content of damaged starch by selecting the most suitable milling technique and carefully managing the operative parameters.

Effect of Wholegrain Flour Particle Size in Bread on Glycaemic and Insulinaemic Response among People with Risk Factors for Type 2 Diabetes: A Randomised Crossover Trial

Wholegrain flour produced by roller-milling is predominantly comprised of fine particles, while stoneground flour tends to have a comparatively smaller proportion of fine particles. Differences in flour particle size distribution can affect postprandial glycaemia in people with type 2 diabetes and postprandial insulinaemia in people with and without type 2 diabetes. No prior studies have investigated the effect of wholegrain flour particle size distribution on glycaemic or insulinaemic response among people with impaired glucose tolerance or risk factors for type 2 diabetes. In a randomised crossover study, we tested the 180-min acute glycaemic and insulinaemic responses to three wholegrain breads differing in flour particle size and milling method: (1) fine roller-milled flour, (2) fine stoneground flour, and (3) coarse stoneground flour. Participants (n = 23) were males and females with risk factors for type 2 diabetes (age 55-75 y, BMI >28 kg/m², completing less than 150 min moderate to vigorous intensity activity per week). Each test meal provided 50 g available carbohydrate, and test foods were matched for energy and macronutrients. There was no significant difference in blood glucose iAUC (incremental area under the curve) between the coarse stoneground flour bread and the fine stoneground flour bread (mean difference -20.8 (95% CI: -51.5, 10.0) mmol·min/L) and between the coarse stoneground flour bread and the fine roller-milled flour bread (mean difference -23.3 (95% CI: -57.6, 11.0) mmol·min/L). The mean difference in insulin iAUC for fine stoneground flour bread compared with the fine roller-milled flour bread was -6.9% (95% CI: -20.5%, 9.2%) and compared with the coarse stoneground flour bread was 9.9% (95% CI: -2.6%, 23.9%). There was no evidence of an effect of flour particle size on postprandial glycaemia and insulinaemia among older people with risk factors for type 2 diabetes, most of whom were normoglycaemic.

Challenges and Opportunities in Wheat Flour, Pasta, Bread, and Bakery Product Production Chains: A Systematic Review of Innovations and Improvement Strategies to Increase Sustainability, Productivity, and Product Quality

Pasta, bread, and bakery products are considered worldwide as essential foods for human nutrition. In particular, ancient wheats and whole wheat flours, despite being able to provide health benefits via bioactive compounds, present significant technological problems related to poorer dough rheological properties and final product characteristics. Moreover, both the food industry and consumers are increasingly sensitive to environmental impacts, highlighting the urgent need for sustainable innovations and improvement strategies, from cradle to grave, for the entire production chains, thus motivating this review. The aim of this review is to provide technological innovations and improvement strategies to increase the sustainability, productivity, and quality of flours, pasta, bread, and bakery products. This review is focused on the main operations of the production chains (i.e., wheat cultivation, wheat milling, dough processing, and, finally, the manufacturing of pasta, bread, and bakery products). To achieve this goal, the use of life-cycle assessment (LCA) analysis proved to be an effective tool that can be used, from early stages, for the development of eco-friendly improvement strategies. The correct management of the wheat cultivation stage was found to be essential since it represents the most impacting phase for the environment. Successively, particular attention needs to be paid to the milling process, the kneading phase, to breadmaking, and, finally, to the manufacturing of pasta. In this review, several specifically developed solutions for these essential phases were suggested. In conclusion, despite further investigations being necessary, this review provided several innovations and improvement strategies, using an approach “from cradle to grave”, able to increase the sustainability, productivity, and final quality of flour, semolina, pasta, bread, and bakery products.

Nutritional Features and Bread-Making Performance of Wholewheat: Does the Milling System Matter?

Despite the interest in stone-milling, there is no information on the potential advantages of using the resultant wholegrain flour (WF) in bread-making. Consequently, nutritional and technological properties of WFs obtained by both stone- (SWF) and roller-milling (RWF) were assessed on four wheat samples, differing in grain hardness and pigment richness. Regardless of the type of wheat, stone-milling led to WFs with a high number of particles ranging in size from 315 to 710 μm), whereas RWFs showed a bimodal distribution with large (>1000 μm) and fine (<250 μm) particles. On average, the milling system did not affect the proximate composition and the bioactive features of WFs. The gluten aggregation kinetics resulted in similar trends for all SWFs, with indices higher than for RWFs. The effect of milling on dough properties (i.e., mixing and leavening) was sample dependent. Overall, SWFs produced more gas, resulting in bread with higher specific volume. Bread crumb from SWF had higher lutein content in the wheat cv rich in xanthophylls, while bread from RWF of the blue-grained cv had a moderate but significantly higher content in esterified phenolic acids and total anthocyanins. In conclusion, there was no relevant advantage in using stone- as opposed to roller-milling (and vice versa).

Determination of phenolic compounds in ancient and modern durum wheat genotypes

Due to its significant amount of antioxidants, durum wheat (Triticum turgidum ssp. durum) could potentially contribute to the protection against a number of chronic diseases, such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and cancer. The increasing interest toward healthy food among both consumers and scientists has moved the focus toward the phytochemical content of whole wheat grains. The aim of this study was to identify the phytochemical composition of 22 cultivars belonging to old and modern durum wheat genotypes, including antioxidant capacity (DPPH and FRAP tests). In addition, five phenolic acids involved in the vanillin biosynthesis pathway and in the defence mechanism of plants were screened using UHPLC-MS/MS. Remarkable quantitative differences in the amount of the five phenolic acids analysed (p < 0.05) were detected among the wheat genotypes investigated. Results showed that among the investigated phenolic compounds, trans-ferulic acid was the most abundant, ranging from 13.28 to 324.69 μg/g; all the other identified compounds were present at lower concentrations. Moreover, significant differences on the antioxidant activity were observed. Collected data suggested possible differences between biosynthetic pathway of secondary metabolites among durum wheat genotypes.