Quality, Nutritional Properties, and Glycemic Index of Colored Whole Wheat Breads.

The main aim of this study was to investigate the quality and nutritional properties (dietary fiber, phenolic, antioxidant contents, and glycemic index) of breads made from whole wheat flours of colored wheats. White (cultivar Agronomicheskaya 5), red (Element 22), purple (EF 22 and Purple 8), and blue (Blue 10) colored wheats were used in the study. The whole wheat flours of Blue 10 and Purple 8 had higher farinograph stability, lower softening degree, and higher quality numbers indicating that they had better rheological properties. Bread produced from whole wheat flour of blue-colored grain had significantly higher loaf volume and better symmetry, crust color, crumb cell structure, and softness values among others (p < 0.05). The whole wheat bread produced using Element 22 had the highest crust and crumb L* color values, while Purple 8 and EF 22 had the lowest crust and crumb L* color values, suggesting that purple-colored grains have a tendency to make whole wheat bread with darker crust and crumb color. Bread produced from cultivar Blue 10 had the lowest firmness values while Element 22 had the highest firmness values. The highest total phenolic content and antioxidant capacity values were obtained from the whole wheat bread sample from purple-colored wheat (Purple 8). The whole wheat flour of Element 22 had the highest total dietary fiber content among all samples (p < 0.05). The differences between whole wheat bread samples in terms of total dietary fiber and glycemic index were not statistically significant. The results of the present study indicated that colored wheats can be used to produce whole wheat breads with higher nutritional properties and acceptable quality characteristics.

Utilization of Intermediate Wheatgrass (Thinopyrum intermedium) as an Innovative Ingredient in Bread Making.

Intermediate wheatgrass (IWG; Thinopyrum intermedium), a nutritionally dense and sustainable crop, is a promising novel ingredient in bakery applications. The main aim of this study was to investigate the potential of IWG as a novel ingredient in breadmaking. The second aim was to investigate the characteristics of breads substituted with 15, 30, 45, and 60% IWG flour compared to control bread produced using wheat flour. The gluten content and quality, bread quality, bread staling, yellow pigment, and phenolic and antioxidant properties were determined. Enrichment with IWG flours significantly affected the gluten content and quality and bread characteristics. Increased levels of IWG flour substitution significantly decreased the Zeleny sedimentation and gluten index values and increased the dry and wet gluten contents. The bread yellow pigment content and crumb b* colour value increased with the increasing level of IWG supplementation. IWG addition also had a positive effect on the phenolic and antioxidant properties. Bread with 15% IWG substitution had the highest bread volume (485 mL) and lowest firmness values (654 g-force; g-f) compared to the other breads, including the control (i.e., wheat flour bread). The results indicated that IWG has great potential to be used in bread production as a novel, healthy, and sustainable ingredient.

Phenolic Content and Antioxidant Capacity of Synthetic Hexaploid Wheats.

In this study, 21 synthetic hexaploid wheat samples were analyzed and compared for phenolic content (the Folin-Ciocalteu method), phenolic compositions, and antioxidant activity (DPPH, ABTS, and CUPRAC). The aim of the study was to determine the phenolic content and antioxidant activity of synthetic wheat lines developed from Ae. Tauschii, which has a wide genetic diversity, to be used in breeding programs for developing new varieties with better nutritional properties. Bound, free, and total phenolic contents (TPCs) of wheat samples were determined as 145.38-258.55 mg GAE/100 g wheat, 188.19-369.38 mg GAE/100 g wheat, and 333.58-576.93 mg GAE/100 g wheat, respectively. Phenolic compositions were detected by the HPLC system. Gallic acid was found in the highest concentrations in free fractions, whereas gallic, p-coumaric acid, and chlorogenic acid were generally found in the highest concentrations in bound fractions of the synthetic hexaploid wheat samples. The antioxidant activities (AA%) of the wheat samples were evaluated by the DPPH assay. AA% in the free extracts of the synthetic red wheat samples ranged from 33.0% to 40.5%, and AA% values in the bound extracts of the synthetic hexaploid wheat samples varied between 34.4% and 50.6%. ABTS and CUPRAC analyses were also used to measure antioxidant activities. The ABTS values of the free and bound extracts and total ABTS values of the synthetic wheat samples ranged from 27.31 to 123.18, 61.65 to 263.23, and 93.94 to 308.07 mg TE/100 g, respectively. The corresponding CUPRAC values of the synthetic wheats were between 25.78-160.94, 75.35-308.13, and 107.51-364.79 mg TE/100 g. This study revealed that synthetic hexaploid wheat samples are valuable resources for breeding programs for developing new wheat varieties with higher concentrations and better compositions of health-beneficial phytochemicals. The samples w1 (Ukr.-Od. 1530.94/Ae. squarrosa (629)), w18 (Ukr.-Od. 1530.94/Ae. squarrosa (1027)), and w20 (Ukr.-Od. 1530.94/Ae. squarrosa (392)) can be used as a genetic resource in breeding programs to enhance the nutritional quality of wheat.

Antioxidant Capacity and Profiles of Phenolic Acids in Various Genotypes of Purple Wheat.

The total phenolic content, phenolic compositions, and antioxidant capacity in the grain of 40 purple wheat genotypes were studied. In this study, purple wheats were investigated in terms of their composition of free and bound phenolic acids and 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl radical scavenging capacity. The free phenolic content ranged from 164.25 to 271.05 mg GAE/100 g DW and the bound phenolic content was between 182.89-565.62 mg GAE/100 g wheat. The total phenolic content of purple wheat samples ranged from 352.65 to 771.83 mg GAE/100 g wheat. Gallic acid, protocatechuic acid, catechin, 4-hydroxybenzoic acid, syringic acid, ellagic acid, m-coumaric acid, o-coumaric acid, chrysin, caffeic acid, p-coumaric acid, ferulic acid, quercetin, kaempferol, rutin, sinapic acid, and chlorogenic acid were detected by HPLC system. Gallic acid, benzoic acid derivatives, and dominant phenolics, which are frequently found in cereals, were also dominant in purple wheat samples and were found in free fractions. The antioxidant capacity was assessed using the DPPH method. The antioxidant capacity (AA%) in the free phenolic extracts of the purple wheats was between 39.7% and 59.5%, and the AA% values of bound phenolic extract of the purple wheat varied between 42.6% and 62.7%. This study suggested that purple wheat samples have high phenolic compound content as antioxidant potential and therefore consumption of purple wheat-containing food products may provide health benefits.

Global genomic analyses of wheat powdery mildew reveal association of pathogen spread with historical human migration and trade.

The fungus Blumeria graminis f. sp. tritici causes wheat powdery mildew disease. Here, we study its spread and evolution by analyzing a global sample of 172 mildew genomes. Our analyses show that B.g. tritici emerged in the Fertile Crescent during wheat domestication. After it spread throughout Eurasia, colonization brought it to America, where it hybridized with unknown grass mildew species. Recent trade brought USA strains to Japan, and European strains to China. In both places, they hybridized with local ancestral strains. Thus, although mildew spreads by wind regionally, our results indicate that humans drove its global spread throughout history and that mildew rapidly evolved through hybridization.