Journal of Cereal Science最新文献

This study examined the physicochemical properties of flour determining hand-stretched dried noodles (HSDN) and the mechanisms involved. The findings indicated that the flexural performance, cooking and eating quality of HSDN was primarily influenced by gluten characteristics. Additionally, porosity was significantly impacted by the addition of salt, while selecting flour with a higher glutenin to gliadin ratio and lower damaged starch content could potentially reduce the amount of salt required, contributing to the pore structure of HSDN. The HSDN obtained from long-term resting processes demonstrated superior cooking and eating quality in comparison to short-term ones. The extended resting period facilitated the expulsion of trapped air within the dough and the relaxation of the gluten network, resulting in improved dispersal and orientation of excessively aggregated gluten proteins during the stretching process. This led to the formation of more protein branches and stable β-sheet structures during subsequent resting periods.

Bread is one of the most widely consumed foods in the world and is part of the regular diet in many countries. However, white flour bread lacks many valuable nutrients. Inclusion of probiotics can result on bread's quality improvement, but their viability is often affected by food processing and digestion. In this study, maltodextrin and sweet whey were used to encapsulate Lactiplantibacillus plantarum via spray drying. The effect on probiotics survival during heating, storage, and gastrointestinal tract transit, simulated by the INFOGEST in vitro digestion model, was studied. Quality characteristics, sensory analysis, and consumer acceptance were also evaluated. Spray dried bacteria survived in bread during baking at 180 °C and 15 day-storage with a final viability of 7.6 log CFU/g. Encapsulation also ensured the survival of Lactiplantibacillus plantarum during digestion (6.1 log CFU/g), allowing them to be released in the small intestine to exert their health benefits. A difference in bacterial viability between bread crust and crumb was observed, related to oxygen availability and moisture content. A sensory panel did not identify significant differences between bread produced with and without encapsulated bacteria. These results provide new insights regarding addition of encapsulated probiotics for developing functional bakery products favored by consumers.

Exogenous soy protein serves as an enhancer for gluten-free (GF) dough. However, the role of its primary component, soy 11S globulin (11S), and the impact of interactions between exogenous and endogenous proteins on dough remain ambiguous. In this study, the interaction between 11S and rice protein in rice dough was confirmed through the detection of interaction forces and other analytical techniques. Furthermore, the influence on enhancing the quality of rice dough was assessed using additional methodologies. When the content of 11S was 12%, the hydrophobic interaction, hydrogen bond and disulfide bond between 11S and rice protein were increased by 4.85, 3.58 and 6.36 fold, compared with the control group, respectively. Consequently, there was a 55% increase in α-helix content, indicating enhanced stability of the secondary structure. The microscope images showed that the interaction facilitated the development of a network structure within the mixed dough, resulting in increased resistance to kneading, decreased hardness, and heightened springiness. These effects were further reflected in the Mixolab results, the prolonged dough formation time, stable time, and tendency for the C2 value to rise, alongside a diminishing trend in tan δ value. This study confirmed this interaction, which provides the theoretical basis for its future application in GF Foods.

Fungal infections pose a challenge in cereal grains, with Fusarium species, especially in malting barley, causing substantial economic losses and quality degradation. We investigated the effect of gaseous ozone on fungal deactivation and grain germination in spring malting barley, with focus on Fusarium spp. Five studies were performed: (1) ozone concentration (10–100 ppm) and exposure time (1–24 h) on high-moisture barley (19.8%); (2) ozone-treated barley stability over 120 days at 4 °C; (3) grain moisture content (12–20%); (4) relative humidity (23%, 54%, and 98%); and (5) temperature (13 °C, 20 °C, and 33 °C). Significant reductions in total fungal count and Fusarium spp. across all treatments were observed. Higher ozone concentrations and longer exposure times yielded greater reductions, with 100 ppm for 24 h achieving 99.2% and 98.2% reductions in total fungal count and Fusarium incidence, respectively. Grain germination exhibited a negative dose-dependent response but remained within recommended values. Ozone-treated barley preserved quality for 60 days in storage. Grain moisture content, relative humidity, and temperature did not significantly affect ozone's efficacy on fungi and grain germination. This study demonstrates ozone's efficacy against fungi while preserving barley germination, suggesting it as an eco-friendly fungicidal alternative.

Alcalase is commonly used in enzyme-assisted extraction of rice bran protein. However, broad handling of rice bran can affect proteins before proteolysis. Various pretreatments, including thermal stabilization, washing, defatting, alkaline extraction, and enzymatic cellulosic degradation, and combinations were identified regarding the present and possible handling processes of rice bran protein extraction to investigate their effects on the proteolysis of the protein afterward. Then, the protein extraction yield and proteolytic abilities were compared. The thermal stabilization of the rice bran strongly affects enzymatic protein extraction, which more elaborate extraction protocols can mitigate. Rice bran oil can be extracted earlier without seriously affecting the protein extraction. Washing removes native protease inhibitors and hence speeds up the protein extraction. Alkaline extraction is highly efficient but can cause protein denaturation, generating a challenging protein separation from the gel-like structure. The protein extraction with enzymatic (Ultimase) pretreatment is an efficient method that allows high hydrolysis of intact rice bran protein during the protein extraction step.

Based on sensory evaluation and texture characteristics, the improving effect of soaking temperature adjustment in an electric cooker on the palatability of cooked aged indica rice was investigated. The water content and distribution, starch gelatinization, and crystal structure of aged rice grains were analyzed at different soaking temperatures. The results demonstrated that soaking aged indica rice at low temperatures (25 °C and 40 °C) and high temperature (70 °C) increased hardness and reduced viscoelasticity, which were not conducive to achieving desirable sensory qualities. Conversely, soaking treatment at 50 °C positively impacts the palatability of aged indica rice. This treatment increased the proportion of structural water in aged rice grains to 6.38% and reduced starch crystallinity to 22.61%, thereby facilitating starch gelatinization and promoting the formation of desirable taste during subsequent cooking stages. Microstructural analysis revealed that soaked aged indica rice exhibited increased water absorption rates and more uniform distribution of moisture. These findings provided valuable insights for optimizing the cooking process of aged indica rice using the electric cooker.

Gluten quality is an important characteristic of wheat. Gluten is a viscoelastic protein network that is formed after hydrating and mixing wheat flour. This protein network is mainly composed of glutenins (High and Low Molecular Weight Glutenins (HMW-GS and LMW-GS, respectively)) and gliadins. HMW-GS are codified by the loci GLU-A1, GLU-B1 and GLU-D1 in common wheat. For the GLU-A1 locus, many alleles have been described and collected in the Wheat Gene Catalogue (WGC). Many of those alleles have not been compared in conjunction and it is not possible to know if the current GLU-A1 variability described is real or it is overestimated. This study has focused on collecting all the germplasm associated with GLU-A1 variability, to verify the GLU-A1 allele of each accession and if the current variability described in the WGC is real. It was possible to collect and compare by SDS-PAGE most of the germplasm described in the WGC. The identity of many alleles was confirmed while there are other cases that should be reviewed in more detail. This study contributes to the correct classification of the GLU-A1 diversity and will promote the use of different alleles in future breeding programs aiming to improve gluten quality.

Bread is a food of high consumption worldwide the thermal processing causes the formation of Maillard Reaction Products (MRP). Despite the beneficial sensorial impact, MRP are implicated in harmful effects on human health. This study aimed to review data on critical preparation factors and their influence on specific MRP contents in different types of bread and identify ways to mitigate the formation of these compounds in breadmaking. Acrylamide (AA) and hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) stood out with the highest frequency of quantification in bread. In thermal processing, the highest AA contents are related to the increase in temperature depending on the exposure time; the highest HMF contents are exclusively related to the increase in temperature (regardless of time); and FUR levels decrease depending on temperature intensity and longer exposure time. A temperature of up to 220 °C tends to form less MRP for up to 60 min of roasting. The evolution of MRP in bread is affected by the weight of the baked dough; type, composition, and refinement of flour; type of yeast/leaven; modified atmosphere equipment and technologies during baking, and essentially, thermal exposure (time x temperature). These factors can contribute to good manufacturing practice criteria for mitigating MRP in bread.

In view of the advantage of heat-moisture treatment (HMT) in modifying the properties of starchy materials, the purpose of this study was to explore the effects of directly applying HMT during the drying process on the properties of dried rice noodles. As attained to prescribed moisture content (20%–35%), the rice noodles were subjected to HMT at 110 °C for 2 h. By HMT, the dried rice noodles exhibited greater structural orderliness and thermal resistance. The relative crystallinity increased from 8.73% to 11.50% and the short-range order (the absorbance ratio of 1047 cm⁻¹/1022 cm⁻¹) increased from 0.57 to 0.72. On the contrary, the lamellar thickness, the radius of gyration, and the mass fractal dimension and pasting viscosities were lowered. Then, HMT induced dried rice noodles with restricted starch leaching during rehydration and reduced cooking loss. HMT increased microstructure homogeneity and texture properties of the cooked rice noodles. Notably, the heat-moisture treated rice noodles at 20% moisture content showed a significant higher cooking yield, about threefold of extensibility, and 1.68 folds of chewiness than the control. Our findings, if generally applicable to the processing of rice noodles, could offer a streamlined approach to increasing the quality of dried rice noodles.

Different salts were added to gluten to investigate the effects of different cations on a fully developed gluten network. The chloride salts KCl, NaCl, MgCl₂, CaCl₂ were mixed with pre-isolated wet gluten in a low and high dose, and the gluten was dried at 40 °C and 80 °C to yield vital gluten. The impact of the individual cations on the gluten protein composition and functionality was determined by analysis of chemical and rheological properties of vital and wet gluten. All cations influenced the gluten protein composition and the rheological behaviour. While the observed changes could not be attributed to the order of the Hofmeister series, monovalent, kosmotropic cations K⁺ and Na⁺ and divalent, chaotropic cations Mg²⁺ and Ca²⁺ showed similar behaviour in terms of protein composition and functional properties. Salts therefore have an influence on the gluten protein composition of a fully developed gluten network and gluten protein composition and functionality can be altered by an after-treatment process in a targeted way.