How Arabinoxylans Modify Gluten and Starch Related Wheat Flour Characteristics

The positive nutritional impact of dietary fibres (DF) gives growing interest to their role in the formation of wheat product quality. Although we are getting closer to characterize the effect of DF on the end use quality, the roles of individual components are not well described yet. Arabinoxylans (AX) are the main compounds of wheat DF, therefore getting more knowledge about its behaviour in wheat based food systems, like dough or end products, could be useful from both theoretical and practical points of view. The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of the AX content on wheat flour quality using a dough model system provided by blends of flour and AX isolate. Rapid Visco Analyser (RVA) and recently developed micro Zeleny test were used for characterization of mixtures. We found that although Zeleny values are basically related to protein-dependent quality, the addition of AX isolate has major impact on the sedimentation volume of flour. In the RVA studies we demonstrated that AX has influence not only on the viscosity values but also on the rate of viscosity change. The effect of AX addition was compared to that of starch addition and was corrected by the rate of dilution. The model system and the experimental method applied here can be suitable to separate the individual effects of non-starchy carbohydrates

Nanofibrous solid dosage form of living bacteria prepared by electrospinning

The aim of this work was to investigate the suitability of electrospinning for biodrug delivery and to develop an electrospinning-based method to produce vaginal drug delivery systems. Lactobacillus acidophilus bacteria were encapsulated into nanofibers of three different polymers (polyvinyl alcohol and polyvinylpyrrolidone with two different molar masses). Shelf life of the bacteria could be enhanced by the exclusion of water and by preparing a solid dosage form, which is an advantageous and patient-friendly way of administration. The formulations were stored at –20, 7 and 25°C, respectively. Viability testing showed that the nanofibers can provide long term stability for huge amounts of living bacteria if they are kept at (or below) 7°C. Furthermore, all kinds of nanowebs prepared in this work dissolved instantly when they got in contact with water, thus the developed biohybrid nanowebs can provide new potential ways for curing bacterial vaginosis

Lab-on-a-chip technology in cereal science: Analytical properties and possible application areas

The utilisation of microchip capillary electrophoresis has the potential to improve the capability of high throughput sample analysis of biomolecules. The aim of this study was to review this capability for cereal protein analysis.The commercially available lab-on-a-chip (LOC) technology was characterised in the separation of total proteins extracted from whole wheat meals. Important analytical parameters (such as repeatability) of both qualitative (molecular size estimation) and quantitative (relative percentage of total protein) aspects of LOC data were determined and discussed in the light of the need of possible applications. It revealed that the LOC has very good repeatability and reproducibility parameters; however the non-globular structure of the proteins can highly affect the sizing accuracy. Among other applications, the profiles were found to be suitable for wheat cultivar identification and to monitor environment related alterations on protein composition.After a confirmation process the LOC can be an appropriate tool for fast protein profile screening in cereal science and technology in diverse applications, and it can complement the conventional methods of analysis

Advantages and limitation of lab-on-a-chip technique in the analysis of wheat proteins

Based on previous research on validating lab-on-A-chip data on wheat protein analysis, a comprehensive work has been carried out with the intent to demonstrate the potential of the technique for wheat related fundamental research, breeding and food industry. Sample preparation and separation methodologies were investigated for the main wheat polypeptide classes: albumins, globulins, gliadins and glutenin subunits (GS). The work was carried out on a sample population originated from Western Siberia with different genetic background providing data, and characterizing their potential interest for future breeding work. LOC results are compared with corresponding reference methods (MALDI-TOF and RP-HPLC). The research revealed that, the current technology is capable for fast profile analysis, recognizing the minor qualitative, and typical quantitative differences in the albumin and globulin protein composition. While the gliadin separation showed poor results, the method seems to be able to identify the high molecular glutenin allelic composition, and to differentiate some of the low molecular weight glutenin alleles, too. Our results provide new insights into a possible rapid and simple way for grain protein profiling

Modelling water absorption of wheat flour by taking into consideration of the soluble protein and arabinoxylan components

Damaged starch, protein and arabinoxylan (AX) content and composition have been related to water absorption (WA) in a large set of samples. We tested 20 modern bread wheat cultivars bred in Hungary, 20 old Hungarian landraces, and 17 cultivars with special biochemical/functional characteristics from all around the world, this last set for international comparison. Grain was field grown in the 2011 and 2012 harvest seasons. Alinear mathematical model has been developed to estimate WA from protein content, starch damage, AX content and the relative amount of soluble proteins with strong correlation (r2 = 0.65) between measured and estimated data. The introduction of a new parameter, related to the cultivar dependent quantitative composition of soluble proteins and determined by lab-on-a-chip (LOC) analysis, largely improved the predictability of WA. Based on the large variation among the level of AX and certain soluble protein components in wheat flour and their significant contribution toWA determination, it was concluded, that these properties could be appropriate target traits to alter them during wheat breeding programs to improve the WA of wheat flour

Advantages and limitation of lab-on-a-chip technique in the analysis of wheat proteins

Based on previous research on validating lab-on-a-chip data on wheat protein analysis, a comprehensive work has been carried out with the intent to demonstrate the potential of the technique for wheat related fundamental research, breeding and food industry. Sample preparation and separation methodologies were investigated for the main wheat polypeptide classes: albumins, globulins, gliadins and glutenin subunits (GS). The work was carried out on a sample population originated from Western Siberia with different genetic background providing data, and characterizing their potential interest for future breeding work. LOC results are compared with corresponding reference methods (MALDI-TOF and RP-HPLC). The research revealed that, the current technology is capable for fast profile analysis, recognizing the minor qualitative, and typical quantitative differences in the albumin and globulin protein composition. While the gliadin separation showed poor results, the method seems to be able to identify the high molecular glutenin allelic composition, and to differentiate some of the low molecular weight glutenin alleles, too. Our results provide new insights into a possible rapid and simple way for grain protein profiling