Hydrocolloids in gluten-free breads: a review.

Bread is a traditional food generally prepared from wheat flour. The main wheat component responsible for bread quality is gluten, which is an essential structure-binding protein. Although important, this protein can cause health problems in predisposed individuals, and is avoided in the diet of celiac disease patients. As diagnosis methods are improved, revealing the high incidence of gluten-intolerance in the western world, the demand for novel, nutritious and high-quality gluten-free foods also ascends. However, for the production of gluten-free breads the absence of gluten is critical and challenging in regards to the bread structure. Various gluten-free formulations have applied hydrocolloids to mimic the viscoelastic properties of gluten. They comprise a number of water-soluble polysaccharides with varied chemical structures providing a range of functional properties that make them suitable to this application. This paper reviews some actual facts about celiac disease and focuses on the reported applications of hydrocolloids in gluten-free breads.

Influence of added bean flour (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) on some physical and nutritional properties of wheat flour tortillas.

Composite flours containing 15%, 25%, or 35% of small red, black, pinto, or navy bean flours (BF) and wheat were made into tortillas. Dough rheology, firmness, cohesiveness, rollability, and some physical properties of tortillas were negatively affected as BF concentration increased regardless of bean cultivar. Nutritionally, all bean tortillas had significantly higher levels of crude protein, total phenols, 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and 2,2'-azinobis-(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulphonic acid) (ABTS(+)) in vitro antioxidant activity (AA) and antinutritional compounds such as phytic acid (PA) and trypsin inhibitors (TI) than the wheat control. Tortillas to which 35% of small red, pinto and black BF was added had the highest levels of phenols, which were significantly correlated with both DPPH (r=0.99) and ABTS(+) (r=0.99) AA. Compared to raw flours, PA and TI were reduced from 37.37% to 43.78% and from 50% to 66%, respectively, in the tortillas. Overall analysis indicated that tortillas with acceptable texture and improved nutritional profile were produced at 25% substitution.

Frutoligossacarídeos: fibras alimentares ativas / Fructoligosaccharides: active dietary fibers

O objetivo desta revisão foi evidenciar a importância da utilização de frutoligossacarídeos (FOS) na alimentação humana e apresentar seus efeitos como ingredientes prebióticos. Foram abordados sua estrutura química, formas de obtenção industrial, propriedades químicas, formas de obtenção industrial, propriedades químicas e físico-químicas dos FOS, efeitos na saúde humana, valor calórico e toxicidade. É inquestionável a comprovação das propriedades funcionais atribuída aos FOS, principalmente sua ação como fibra alimentar, diante dos resultados narrados pela literatura dos últimos 15 anos. Muitos estudos têm sido conduzidos para assegurar os efeitos dos FOS sobre a microbiota intestinal, sua atividade anticarcinogênica e sobre as taxas de colesterol e glicemia no sangue. Acredita-se que conforme os estudos se tornem cada vez mais conclusivos a indústria aumentará consideravelmente a oferta de alimentos enriquecidos com essa fibra alimentar nutricionalmente ativa