Physico-chemical properties of flour, dough and bread from wheat and hydrothermally-treated finger millet

Enhancing enzymatic resistance of starch through strategic application of food physical processing technologies

The demand for clean-label starch, perceived as environmentally friendly in terms of production and less hazardous to health, has driven the advancement of food physical processing technologies aimed at modifying starch. One of the key objectives of these modifications has been to reduce the glycaemic potency and increase resistant starch content of starch, as these properties have the potential to positively impact metabolic health. This review provides a comprehensive overview of recent updates in typical physical processing techniques, including annealing, heat-moisture, microwave and ultrasonication, and a brief discussion of several promising recent-developed methods. The focus is on evaluating the molecular, supramolecular and microstructural changes resulting from these modifications and identifying targeted structures that can foster enzyme-digestion resistance in native starch and its forms relevant to food applications. After a comprehensive search and assessment, the current physical modifications have not consistently improved starch enzymatic resistance. The opportunities for enhancing the effectiveness of modifications lie in (1) identifying modification conditions that avoid the intensive disruption of the granular and supramolecular structure of starch and (2) exploring novel strategies that incorporate multi-type modifications.

Trends in millet and pseudomillet proteins - Characterization, processing and food applications

Millets are small-seeded crops which have been well adopted globally owing to their high concentration of macro and micronutrients such as protein, dietary fibre, essential fatty acids, minerals and vitamins. Considering their climate resilience and potential role in nutritional and health security, the year 2023 has been declared as 'International Year of Millets' by the United Nations. Cereals being the major nutrient vehicle for a majority population, and proteins being the second most abundant nutrient in millets, these grains can be a suitable alternative for plant-based proteins. Therefore, this review was written with an aim to succinctly provide an overview of the available literature take on the characterization, processing and applications of millet-based proteins. This information would play an important role in realizing the research gap restricting the utilization of complete potential of millet proteins. This can be further used by researchers and food industries for understanding the scope of millet proteins as an ingredient for novel food product development.

Anti-diabetic prospects of dietary bio-actives of millets and the significance of the gut microbiota: A case of finger millet

Finger millet (Eleusine coracana) is a staple food in several parts of the world because of its high nutritional value. In addition to its high nutrient content, finger millet contains numerous bioactive compounds, including polyphenol (10.2 mg/g TAE), flavonoid (5.54 mg/g CE), phytic acid (0.48%), and dietary fiber (15-20%). Polyphenols are known for their anti-oxidant and anti-diabetic role. Phytic acid, previously considered an anti-nutritive substance, is now regarded as a nutraceutical as it reduces carbohydrate digestibility and thus controls post-prandial glucose levels and obesity. Thus, finger millet is an attractive diet for patients with diabetes. Recent findings have revealed that the anti-oxidant activity and bio-accessibility of finger millet polyphenols increased significantly (P < 0.05) in the colon, confirming the role of the gut microbiota. The prebiotic content of finger millet was also utilized by the gut microbiota, such as Faecalibacterium, Eubacterium, and Roseburia, to generate colonic short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), and probiotic Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus, which are known to be anti-diabetic in nature. Notably, finger millet-induced mucus-degrading Akkermansia muciniphila can also help in alleviate diabetes by releasing propionate and Amuc_1100 protein. Various millet bio-actives effectively controlled pathogenic gut microbiota, such as Shigella and Clostridium histolyticum, to lower gut inflammation and, thus, the risk of diabetes in the host. In the current review, we have meticulously examined the role of gut microbiota in the bio-accessibility of millet compounds and their impact on diabetes.

Functional, rheological, and microstructural properties of hydrothermal puffed and raw amaranth flour suspensions

The pseudocereal amaranth is commonly used in food as whole puffed grain. To improve the utilization of amaranth, hydrothermally treated suspensions of puffed and raw Amaranthus caudatus flour and their blends were investigated in this study. The suspensions were hydrothermally treated at 20, 50, and 80°C for 1, 5, and 24 h. The blends were treated at 80°C for 1 h. The effect of hydrothermal treatments of the suspensions on their morphological (color, SEM), water-binding, and rheological-functional properties was studied. The puffed amaranth suspensions exhibited cold swelling properties by rapid viscosity increase and significant water absorption properties. It was found that hydrothermal treatment at 80°C for 1 h significantly increased water absorption and viscosity in puffed and raw flour suspensions. However, the puffed suspensions showed significantly higher values in water binding and viscosity. Suspensions of raw amaranth flour showed increasing color differences with increasing temperature. Blends of raw and puffed amaranth flour resulted in a decreasing color change with increasing puffed flour content. Water absorption of the samples increased with an increasing puffed flour content. Raw amaranth flour and the 50/50 (puffed/raw) blend had the lowest, 10/90 and 20/80 (puffed/raw), and showed similar viscosity profiles to suspensions of pure puffed flour.

Sustainable plant-based ingredients as wheat flour substitutes in bread making

Bread as a staple food has been predominantly prepared from refined wheat flour. The world's demand for food is rising with increased bread consumption in developing countries where climate conditions are unsuitable for wheat cultivation. This reliance on wheat increases the vulnerability to wheat supply shocks caused by force majeure or man-made events, in addition to negative environmental and health consequences. In this review, we discuss the contribution to the sustainability of food systems by partially replacing wheat flour with various types of plant ingredients in bread making, also known as composite bread. The sustainable sources of non-wheat flours, their example use in bread making and potential health and nutritional benefits are summarized. Non-wheat flours pose techno-functional challenges due to significantly different properties of their proteins compared to wheat gluten, and they often contain off-favor compounds that altogether limit the consumer acceptability of final bread products. Therefore, we detail recent advances in processing strategies to improve the sensory and nutritional profiles of composite bread. A special focus is laid on fermentation, for its accessibility and versatility to apply to different ingredients and scenarios. Finally, we outline research needs that require the synergism between sustainability science, human nutrition, microbiomics and food science.

Physicochemical, rheological, and baking properties of composite Brotchen bread made from foxtail millet flour

Effect of adding foxtail millet flour (FMF) (10, 20, and 30% w/w) to refined wheat flour (RWF) on physicochemical and rheological properties of dough was studied. Qualitative properties of Brotchen bread including moisture, ash, crude fibre, specific volume, and colour of the breads were evaluated. Adding FMF to the flour increased crude fibre, fat, ash, and protein contents and reduced falling number, damaged starch and wet gluten contents, and sample lightness. Consistograph test indicated that addition of the FMF decreased water absorption capacity, maximum pressure, and tolerance, however, drops in pressure at 250 and 450 s became greater. Alveograph test revealed that with adding FMF, dough resistance to extension and dough strength decreased but an increase in dough extensibility was obtained at FMF30%. Increasing the amount of FMF resulted in a decrease in the volume of the bread, and the FMB (foxtail millet bread) 30% had the highest browning index and b*. The FMB20% had the highest resilience and springiness, while higher level of foxtail (30%) increased chewiness.

Utilisation of Amaranth and Finger Millet as Ingredients in Wheat Dough and Bread for Increased Agro-Food Biodiversity

Amaranth and finger millet are important food security crops in Africa but show poor bread making ability, even in composite wheat breads. Malting and steaming are promising approaches to improve composite bread quality, which have not been fully explored yet. Therefore, in this study, wheat was blended with native, steamed or malted finger millet or amaranth in the ratio of 70:30. Wheat/native amaranth (WHE-NAM) and wheat/malted amaranth (WHE-MAM) had longer dough development times and higher dough stabilities, water absorption capacities and farinograph quality numbers than wheat/steamed amaranth (WHE-SAM), wheat/native finger millet (WHE-NFM), wheat/steamed finger millet (WHE-SFM) or wheat/malted finger millet (WHE-MFM). The WHE-NAM and WHE-MAM breads had lower crumb firmness and chewiness, higher resilience and cohesiveness and lighter colours than WHE-NFM, WHE-SFM and WHE-MFM. Starch and protein digestibility of composite breads were not different (p > 0.05) from each other and ranged between 95−98% and 83−91%, respectively. Composite breads had higher ash (1.9−2.5 g/100 g), dietary fibre (5.7−7.1 g/100 g), phenolic acid (60−122 mg/100 g) and phytate contents (551−669 mg/100 g) than wheat bread (ash 1.6 g/100 g; dietary fibre 4.5 g/100 g; phenolic acids 59 mg/100 g; phytate 170 mg/100 g). The WHE-NAM and WHE-MAM breads possessed the best crumb texture and nutritional profile among the composite breads.

Recent advances in heat-moisture modified cereal starch: Structure, functionality and its applications in starchy food systems

Cereals, one of the starch sources, have a tremendous and steady production worldwide. Starchy foods constitute the major part of daily calorie intake for humans. As a simple and green modification approach, heat-moisture treatment (HMT) could change the granular surface characteristics and size, crystalline and helical structure, as well as molecular organization of cereal starch. The changing degree is contingent on HMT parameters and botanical origin. Based on the hierarchical structure, this paper reviews functionalities of heat-moisture modified cereal starch (HMCS) reported in latest years. The functionality of HMCS could be affected by co-existing non-starch ingredients through non-covalent/covalent interactions, depolymerization or simply attachment/encapsulation. Besides, it summarizes the modulation of HMCS in dough rheology and final food products' quality. Selecting proper HMT conditions is crucial for achieving nutritious products with desirable sensory and storage quality. This review gives a systematic understanding about HMCS for the better utilization in food industry.