Abrar Hussain

Wheat gluten polymer structures : The impact of genotype environment and processing on their functionality in various applications

ABSTRACT For a number of applications, gluten protein polymer structures are of the highest importance in determining end-use properties. The present article focuses on gluten protein structures in the wheat grain, genotype- and environment-related changes, protein structures in various applications, and their impact on quality. Protein structures in mature wheat grain or flour are strongly related to end-use properties, although influenced by genetic and environment interactions. Nitrogen availability during wheat development and genetically determined plant development rhythm are the most important parameters determining the gluten protein polymer structure, although temperature during plant development interacts with the impact of the mentioned parameters. Glutenin subunits are the main proteins incorporated in the gluten protein polymer in extracted wheat flour. During dough mixing, gliadins are also incorporated through disulfide-sulfhydryl exchange reactions. Gluten protein polymer size and complexi...

Mineral Composition of Organically Grown Wheat Genotypes: Contribution to Daily Minerals Intake

In this study, 321 winter and spring wheat genotypes were analysed for twelve nutritionally important minerals (B, Cu, Fe, Se, Mg, Zn, Ca, Mn, Mo, P, S and K). Some of the genotypes used were from multiple locations and years, resulting in a total number of 493 samples. Investigated genotypes were divided into six genotype groups i.e., selections, old landraces, primitive wheat, spelt, old cultivars and cultivars. For some of the investigated minerals higher concentrations were observed in selections, primitive wheat, and old cultivars as compared to more modern wheat material, e.g., cultivars and spelt wheat. Location was found to have a significant effect on mineral concentration for all genotype groups, although for primitive wheat, genotype had a higher impact than location. Spring wheat was observed to have significantly higher values for B, Cu, Fe, Zn, Ca, S and K as compared to winter wheat. Higher levels of several minerals were observed in the present study, as compared to previous studies carried out in inorganic systems, indicating that organic conditions with suitable genotypes may enhance mineral concentration in wheat grain. This study also showed that a very high mineral concentration, close to daily requirements, can be produced by growing specific primitive wheat genotypes in an organic farming system. Thus, by selecting genotypes for further breeding, nutritional value of the wheat flour for human consumption can be improved.

Contribution of organically grown crops to human health.

An increasing interest in organic agriculture for food production is seen throughout the world and one key reason for this interest is the assumption that organic food consumption is beneficial to public health. The present paper focuses on the background of organic agriculture, important public health related compounds from crop food and variations in the amount of health related compounds in crops. In addition, influence of organic farming on health related compounds, on pesticide residues and heavy metals in crops, and relations between organic food and health biomarkers as well as in vitro studies are also the focus of the present paper. Nutritionally beneficial compounds of highest relevance for public health were micronutrients, especially Fe and Zn, and bioactive compounds such as carotenoids (including pro-vitamin A compounds), tocopherols (including vitamin E) and phenolic compounds. Extremely large variations in the contents of these compounds were seen, depending on genotype, climate, environment, farming conditions, harvest time, and part of the crop. Highest amounts seen were related to the choice of genotype and were also increased by genetic modification of the crop. Organic cultivation did not influence the content of most of the nutritional beneficial compounds, except the phenolic compounds that were increased with the amounts of pathogens. However, higher amounts of pesticide residues and in many cases also of heavy metals were seen in the conventionally produced crops compared to the organic ones. Animal studies as well as in vitro studies showed a clear indication of a beneficial effect of organic food/extracts as compared to conventional ones. Thus, consumption of organic food seems to be positive from a public health point of view, although the reasons are unclear, and synergistic effects between various constituents within the food are likely.

Concentration of some heavy metals in organically grown primitive, old and modern wheat genotypes: implications for human health.

The concentration of six HMs (Cd, Cr, Co, Pb, Hg and Ni) was analysed in 321 organically grown winter and spring wheat genotypes from six genotype groups, i.e. selections, old landraces, primitive wheat, spelt, old cultivars and cultivars. Also the potential risk of individual toxic HM to human health was estimated by using the Hazard Quotient (HQ). Significantly the lowest grain concentration of Cd was found in primitive wheat as compared to all other investigated genotype groups. Intake of HM by consumption of whole wheat grain was not found to pose a health risk to human for any of the investigated genotype groups. The bio-concentration factor of Cd for the different genotype groups indicated a lower ability to accumulate Cd for primitive wheat as compared to other genotype groups. The primitive wheat was found the most promising and might be of interest in future wheat breeding programs to develop wheat genotypes with low HMs concentration in the grain.

Carotenoid Content in Organically Produced Wheat: Relevance for Human Nutritional Health on Consumption.

In this study, 33 spring and winter wheat genotypes were analyzed for carotenoid content and composition. Investigated genotypes were divided into four genotype groups i.e., spelt, landraces, old cultivars and primitive wheat. The results showed a high level of variation among the genotypes in amount of carotenoids in the grain with high values (around 4 mg/Kg) especially in one of the genotypes—Öland 8. Lutein was the most common carotenoid in all the investigated genotypes, contributing 70%–90% of the carotenoids in the grain. Variation in carotenoid content and composition was found not only among genotypes, but also between genotype groups and wheat type, although there is a need to analyze more genotypes to confirm the differences found between groups and types. This study showed that 40% of the daily requirements of lutein can be achieved from the genotypes with the highest lutein content (Öland 8) produced using organic farming through the average human consumption of 200 grams of wheat per day. Furthermore, this study showed, by the use of principal component analyses, an opportunity to select genotypes combining high values of certain nutritional compounds. By a further breeding and commercial production of such genotypes, the nutritional value of wheat flour for human consumption can be improved.

Healthy food from organic wheat: choice of genotypes for production and breeding

BACKGROUND In the present study, 40 wheat genotypes were grown in the same soil in organic farming system trials in Alnarp, Sweden. The purpose was to evaluate opportunities for production and breeding of organic wheat of high nutritious value. RESULTS The results showed a large variation in content of minerals, total tocochromanols and heavy metals in the grain of 40 organically produced wheat genotypes. Principal component and cluster analysis were used as tools for selection of the most suitable genotypes for production and breeding of organic wheat of high nutritious value. No single genotype group was found particularly superior from the studied material to produce this specific type of wheat. However, certain genotypes from different groups were found with promising nutritional characters. The most promising genotypes as related to nutritionally relevant compounds were 6356 spelt, Triticum monococcum, Ölands 17 borst spelt, Lv Dal 16 brun borst and Fylgia. CONCLUSION By choosing these genotypes for organic production and future wheat breeding, nutritionally improved organic wheat products might be developed. However, for future breeding, nutritional components such as protein, fibre, glycaemic index and B-group vitamins should also be considered.

Amount and Size Distribution of Monomeric and Polymeric Proteins in the Grain of Organically Produced Wheat

ABSTRACT In the present study, we evaluated 444 organically grown wheat genotypes for the amount and size distribution of polymeric proteins by size-exclusion HPLC. The investigated genotypes were divided into six genotype groups—selection, spelt, old cultivar, primitive, landrace, and cultivar—and these were grown in four different locations, namely, Alnarp, Bohuslan, Gotland, and Uppsala in Sweden. The results showed that the percentage of unextractable polymeric proteins in total polymeric proteins (%UPP) and percentage of large unextractable polymeric proteins in total polymeric proteins were higher in the cultivar group as compared with the rest of the investigated genotype groups. The amounts of total extractable polymeric proteins (TOTE) and total unextractable polymeric proteins were low in cultivars and selections, respectively. Spring wheat grain was found to have a significantly higher amount of all protein fractions as compared with winter wheat. The genotype Kenya was found to belong to both ...