Comparative analysis of native and defatted flour from hard, extraordinarily soft, and medium-hard wheat varieties for protein solvation, pasting, mixing, and dough rheological behavior

Characterization and Differentiation of Grain Proteomes from Wild-Type Puroindoline and Variants in Wheat

Premium wheat with a high end-use quality is generally lacking in China, especially high-quality hard and soft wheat. Pina-D1 and Pinb-D1 (puroindoline genes) influence wheat grain hardness (i.e., important wheat quality-related parameter) and are among the main targets in wheat breeding programs. However, the mechanism by which puroindoline genes control grain hardness remains unclear. In this study, three hard wheat puroindoline variants (MY26, GX3, and ZM1) were compared with a soft wheat variety (CM605) containing the wild-type puroindoline genotype. Specifically, proteomic methods were used to screen for differentially abundant proteins (DAPs). In total, 6253 proteins were identified and quantified via a high-throughput tandem mass tag quantitative proteomic analysis. Of the 208 DAPs, 115, 116, and 99 proteins were differentially expressed between MY26, GX3, and ZM1 (hard wheat varieties) and CM605, respectively. The cluster analysis of protein relative abundances divided the proteins into six clusters. Of these proteins, 67 and 41 proteins were, respectively, more and less abundant in CM605 than in MY26, GX3, and ZM1. Enrichment analyses detected six GO terms, five KEGG pathways, and five IPR terms that were shared by all three comparisons. Furthermore, 12 proteins associated with these terms or pathways were found to be differentially expressed in each comparison. These proteins, which included cysteine proteinase inhibitors, invertases, low-molecular-weight glutenin subunits, and alpha amylase inhibitors, may be involved in the regulation of grain hardness. The candidate genes identified in this study may be relevant for future analyses of the regulatory mechanism underlying grain hardness.

A chromatographic and immunoprofiling approach to optimising workflows for extraction of gluten proteins from flour

Ingestion of gluten proteins from wheat, and related prolamin proteins from barley, rye, and oats, can cause adverse reactions in individuals with coeliac disease and IgE-mediated allergies. As there is currently no cure for these conditions, patients must practice avoidance of gluten-containing foods. In order to support patients in making safe food choices, foods making a "gluten-free" claim must contain no more than 20 mg/Kg of gluten. Mass spectrometry methods have the potential to provide an alternative method for confirmatory analysis of gluten that is complementary to analysis currently undertaken by immunoassay. As part of the development of such methodology the effectiveness of two different extraction procedures was investigated using wholemeal wheat flour before and after defatting with water-saturated butan-1-ol. A single step extraction with 50 % (v/v) propan-2-ol containing 2 M urea and reducing agent (buffer 1) was compared with a two-step extraction using 60 % (v/v) aqueous ethanol (buffer 2) followed by re-extraction of the pellet using buffer 1, using either wheel mixing under ambient conditions (19 °C) or sonication at 60 °C. The procedures were compared based on total protein extraction efficiency and the composition of the extracts determined using a combination of HPLC, SDS-PAGE and immunoblotting with a panel of four gluten-specific monoclonal antibodies. Defatting generally had a detrimental effect on extraction efficiency and sonication at 60 °C only improved extraction efficiency with buffer 2. Although the single-step and two-step procedures were equally effective at extracting protein from the samples, analysis of extracts showed that the two-step method gave a more complete extraction of gluten proteins. Future studies will compare the effectiveness of these procedures when applied in the sample workflows for mass spectrometry based methods for determination of gluten in food.

Gluten-starch interface characteristics and wheat dough rheology-Insights from hybrid artificial systems

Referring to the total surface existing in wheat dough, gluten-starch interfaces are a major component. However, their impact on dough rheology is largely unclear. Common viewpoints, based on starch surface modifications or reconstitution experiments, failed to show unambiguous relations of interface characteristics and dough rheology. Observing hybrid artificial dough systems with defined particle surface functionalization gives a new perspective. Since surface functionalization standardizes particle-polymer interfaces, the impact on rheology becomes clearly transferable and thus, contributes to a better understanding of gluten-starch interfaces. Based on this perspective, the effect of particle/starch surface functionality is discussed in relation to the rheological properties of natural wheat dough and modified gluten-starch systems. A competitive relation of starch and gluten for intermolecular interactions with the network-forming polymer becomes apparent during network development by adsorption phenomena. This gluten-starch adhesiveness delays the beginning of non-linearity under large deformations, thus contributing to a high deformability of dough. Consequently, starch surface functionality affects the mechanical properties, starting from network formation and ending with the thermal fixation of structure.

Effect of degree of milling and defatting on proximate composition, functional and texture characteristics of gluten-free muffin of bran of long-grain indica rice cultivars

Effect of different degrees of milling (DoM: 2%, 4%, 6% and 8%) and defatting on the proximate composition, protein characteristics, functional properties of bran of long grain rice cultivars and texture characteristics of bran (RB) supplemented muffins were evaluated. Protein, ash content, redness and yellowness increased while fat content decreased for RB by extended DoM and defatting. A higher proportion of β sheets, random coils, α-helix and β-turns for all fractions of RB of both cultivars after defatting were also observed. Defatting and extended DoM both improved the essential amino acid content in RB. A higher level of prolamines (15-18 kDa) in RB and DF-RB of PUSA1121 than PR111 was observed. Muffins made from 2% DoM bran from PUSA1121 showed improved texture characteristics and achieved the highest score for sensory attributes. Therefore, DoM and defatting improved the proximate, protein profiling, and functionality of the different fraction of RB.