Marina Carcea

Phenols, lignans and antioxidant properties of legume and sweet chestnut flours.

Total phenols (TPC) and antioxidant properties were determined in chick-pea, green and red lentils and sweet chestnut flours, in both aqueous-organic extracts and their residues, by the Folin Ciocalteau method and by the FRAP assay, respectively. Plant lignans were quantified in flours by means of HPLC. In addition, the FRAP of plant lignans (secoisolariciresinol, lariciresinol, isolariciresinol, pinoresinol, matairesinol), their mixture and enterolignans (enterodiol and enterolactone) were determined. In all flours, the highest TPC values were found in the residue. Specific and varietal significant differences were observed in all parameters. The highest TPC (737.32 and 1492.93mg/100gd.w.) and FRAP (140.32 and 101.25μmol/gd.w.) values were reached by green lentils in both aqueous-organic extract and residue, respectively. Sweet chestnuts had the highest total lignans (980.03μg/100gd.w.). It was also found that the plant lignans standards have a higher antioxidant activity than enterolignans standards and that matairesinol has the highest activity.

Nutritional characterisation and bioactive components of commercial carobs flours

Food industry is interested in the utilisation of legume flours for the improvement the nutritional quality of cereal based foods. In this context, this research aimed at investigating the beneficial properties of different commercial carob seed flours -Ceratonia siliqua L.-. In particular, we determined chemical parameters (protein, fat, ash, soluble and insoluble fibre) by standard AOAC methods, lignans (secoisolariciresinol, lariciresinol, isolariciresinol, pinoresinol) by HPLC methods, the Total Polyphenol Content (TPC) by the Folin Ciocalteau method and the antioxidant properties by the FRAP assay. The carob germ flour and the raw carob seed flour reached the highest insoluble fibre, lignan and total polyphenols content and these results were matched by their antioxidant properties. Different carob flours showed a different distribution of the various lignans.

Wheat yield and quality as influenced by reduced tillage in organic farming

Organic farmers are interested in soil conservation by reduced tillage, techniques well known in conventional agriculture to protect soil quality and limit labor time and energy costs. However, organic farming and reduced tillage can modify weeds, soil structure, and thus soil nitrogen (N) mineralization which strongly influences wheat yield and quality. The main objectives of this study were to analyze how reduced tillage applied to organic wheat influenced (1) grain yield, protein concentration, and weed infestation; (2) deoxynivalenol (DON) contamination on grain; (3) technological quality parameters such as dry gluten, zeleny index, falling number, and gluten index; (4) protein composition (F1, F2, F3, F4, and F5 fractions, and UPP, gliadin/glutenin ratio); and (5) baking test. For this purpose, we analyzed five site-years of data from winter wheat crops where mouldboard ploughing and reduced tillage were compared in three experimental trials (two in France and one in Switzerland). Main results concern wheat yields: the effect of reduced tillage on wheat yield was influenced by several factors such as weed competition. No significant increase in mycotoxin content (DON) due to reduced tillage was detected. Contamination with DON was always below the European threshold for human consumption. The technological quality parameters were less affected by the tillage treatments than grain yield: protein content, gluten index, zeleny index, and falling number showed on average no significant difference between treatments although the protein composition was slightly different. The main results of this study are that the effect of reduced tillage on grain yield depends very much on soil type, weather conditions, and time after conversion, whereas there is only minor impact on wheat quality. This is in contrast to the hypothesis that reduced tillage under organic farming will cause problems in baking quality.

Lignan Content in Cereals, Buckwheat and Derived Foods

Cereal foods are a fundamental part of a balanced diet and several studies have assigned to wholemeal cereal products a protective role in human health, due to their content of bioactive compounds. Within the phytochemicals, lignans are of increasing interest for their potential anticarcinogenic, antioxidant, estrogenic and antiestrogenic activities. The aim of this work is to contribute to the updating of food lignan databases by providing the profile and the amount of lignans in cereals, buckwheat and several cereal based foods commonly consumed in human diets. Values were taken from published papers. Items were divided in different groups, namely grains, brans and flours, bread, cereal staple foods, breakfast cereals and other cereal products, and values for secoisolariciresinol, matairesinol, pinoresinol, lariciresinol are given. For example, the total average values for the mentioned lignans in grains ranged between 23 μg/100 g and 401 μg/100 g dry weight. The contribution of each single lignan molecule to the total value of lignans appears to be different for every cereal species. Lignan content and typology in processed foods depends on the raw materials used, their degree of refinement and on processing conditions.

Organic Bread Wheat Production and Market in Europe

This chapter is a first attempt to analyse bottlenecks and challenges of European organic bread wheat sector involving technical, political and market issues. From 2000, the organic grain market has largely increased in Western Europe. To balance higher consumer demand there is a need to increase organic production by a new transition and technical improvement. Bread wheat is grown in a variety of crop rotations and farming systems where four basic organic crop production systems have been defined. Weeds and nitrogen deficiency are considered to be the most serious threat inducing lowest grain yield under organic production. The choice of cultivar, green manure, fertilization and intercropping legumes – grain or forage – are efficient ways to obtain high grain quality and quantity.

Evaluation of a New Viscometer Performance in Predicting the Technological Quality of Soft Wheat Flour

Gluten aggregation properties were investigated by means of the GlutoPeak device, a viscometer recently proposed as a rapid and sensitive test for measurement of wheat flour technological performance. In this study, 62 soft wheat flour samples of different quality and end use were utilized to evaluate if the GlutoPeak parameters could adequately predict chemical and rheological characteristics of soft wheat flour dough, that is, protein content measured by the Kjeldahl method, dough strength measured by a Chopin alveograph, and dough stability and water absorption measured by a Brabender farinograph. Linear correlation analysis showed that most GlutoPeak curve parameters were strongly correlated with protein content, dough strength, and water absorption. The statistical models, obtained by a stepwise multiple regression method, showed the GlutoPeak device to be a promising tool to characterize wheat flour (Radj2 = 0.84 for protein content, Radj2 = 0.71 for dough strength, and Radj2 = 0.67 for water absorp...

Effect of Cooking on Lignans Content in Whole-Grain Pasta Made with Different Cereals and Other Seeds

ABSTRACT Lignans are of increasing interest because of their potential anticarcinogenic, antioxidant, estrogenic, and antiestrogenic activities. In this work, mixed-cereal pastas manufactured by adding 60% whole-grain flours of different cereals (wheat, oat, rye, barley, and rice) to durum wheat semolina, a multigrain pasta with different grains (cereals, legumes, and flaxseed), and a traditional industrial durum wheat semolina were analyzed for their lignans content both in the raw and in the cooked state, ready for consumption. For raw mixed-cereal pastas, total lignans were within the range 94.91–485.62 μg/100 g d.w. After cooking, total lignans losses of about 35.5, 18.31, and 5.46% were observed respectively in oat-, rye-, and rice-added pastas, whereas increases of 5.74 and 13.62% were observed in barley-added and whole durum wheat pastas. Interesting results were obtained for the multigrain pasta: the raw product exhibited a total lignans content of 9,686.17 ± 287.03 μg/100 g d.w., and the major co...

Management Effects on Quality of Organically Grown Winter Wheat

The potential for improving wheat grain quality by management strategies involving crop rotation, catch crops, and organic manure was tested in organic long-term experiments in Denmark and Austria. Growing grass clover in a four-year rotation resulted in a higher wheat yield increase that could not be achieved by including leguminous catch crops in the rotation. Yield was also higher with a pre-crop of pea than of lucerne. The average protein concentration was 132 g kg−1 for grains from the Austrian experiments while the Danish grains held 85 g kg−1. Protein was generally much less affected by the experimental conditions than grain yield. None of the tested management parameters affected grain protein concentrations in the Danish experiment. In the Austrian trial, a significant pre-cropu2009×u2009treatment interaction reflected a positive effect of the animal manure treatment on protein and dry gluten in wheat following pre-crop pea. Danish grains generally contained more soluble polymers of less interest for the baking process than the Austrian ones. The study emphasizes the challenges in improving the quality of organically grown wheat beyond what is predetermined by environmental growth conditions and cultivar. However, baking quality appeared better than could be expected from the quality parameters determined.

Chapter 1 - Legal Aspects of Food Protected Designations

Protected designation of origin (PDO), protected geographical indication (PGI) and traditional speciality guaranteed (TSG) are currently regulated by Regulation (EU) No. 1151/2012 (repealing Council Regulations (EC) No. 509/2006 and 510/2006) with respect to their legal definition, labelling, registration and control of product compliance with the legal definition. This regulation represents the accomplishment of the need for general quality-linked protection of geographical indications, also covering origin designations, acknowledged by the Commission in the 1980s in the Communication ‘The future of rural society’ that can be considered the first legal document dealing with protected designations in Europe. In comparison to the first framework for a Community scheme to register and protect products to be qualified as PDO, PGI and TSG (Council Regulations (EEC) No. 2081/92 and No. 2082/92), the latest regulations introduced both additional information in terms of application procedure, labelling, enforcement activities and control of compliance, and a key element of enlargement of the quality scheme to third-country producers and new geographical origins.

Polyphenols in Raw and Cooked Cereals/Pseudocereals/Legume Pasta and Couscous

Pasta and couscous are popular foods manufactured (in their traditional form) from durum wheat semolina. In recent years, the consumers’ quest for novel, functional, gluten-free, wholegrain foods has prompted the industry to manufacture new pasta and couscous products in which durum wheat has been partially or totally replaced by other vegetable flours. Besides dietary fibre, these raw materials might be an interesting source of phytochemicals. In this work, 16 commercial samples of pasta and four samples of couscous representative of the new products and made of refined and wholegrain flours of different species of cereals, pseudocereals and legumes were analysed for free, hydrolysable bound and total polyphenol content by means of the Folin-Ciocalteu procedure. Analyses were repeated on cooked samples to assess the quantity of polyphenols ingested by the consumers. The raw legume and pseudocereal products had a total polyphenol content higher than most cereal products (up to 1743.4 mg of Gallic Acid Equivalent (GAE) per 100 g dry weight). Wholegrain products had higher contents than refined products. The free fraction underwent up to 46% loss with cooking, probably because of solubility in water. The water absorption of pasta and couscous during cooking was in a ratio of 2:3, resulting in higher dilution of polyphenols in the cooked couscous.