Preliminary communication dietary fiber content of bulgur as affected by wheat variety. Preliminary communication

Dietary fiber content of bulgurs prepared from different wheat varieties was investigated. Grains of 29 Turkish wheat cultivars and advanced breeding lines (23 of durum and 6 of common wheat) were used in this study. The average values for ADF and NDF (+amylase) contents of investigated durum wheats were 3.4% and 9.9%, respectively and the corresponding values of common wheats were 3.4% and 11.5%. In this study, the average values for ADF and NDF (+amylase) contents of bulgurs made of durum wheats were found to be 5.4% and 10.3%, respectively and the corresponding values of bulgurs made of common wheats were 5.8% and 11.7%. The minimum and maximum values for ADF and NDF (+amylase) contents of bulgurs made of durum wheats were found to be 4.1%-6.8% and 7.9%-11.8%, respectively and the corresponding values of bulgurs made of common wheats were 5.1%-6.4 and 10.6%-12.4%. The processing of wheat into bulgur generally increased the levels of ADF and NDF(+amylase) contents. It can be concluded that bulgur is at least as good as a raw wheat in terms of dietary fibre content. Although there is no essential change in the total protein content, ash and ß-carotene contents of the bulgurs were lower than the ones in the original wheats as a result of debranning

Application of the electron paramagnetic resonance spin probe technique for detection of irradiated wheat

The fast decay of free radicals makes application of traditional electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) techniques impractical for detection of irradiated wheats when the storage time is longer than 30 days. In this study, therefore, the effects of irradiation on wheat seeds were investigated by using the EPR spin probe technique. The technique is based on the ability of the spin probes to transfer valuable information related to the changes in the structural characteristics of embryo cell membranes caused by irradiation. As a result of irradiation, the environment of the spin probe is modified and this modification can be followed from the recorded spectra. The doses studied were 1.0, 2.5, 10.0, and 20.0 kGy. An aqueous solution of 16- doxyl stearic acid (16-DSA) was used. The embryos were detached using a steel needle and kept in 16-DSA solution for 2.5 hr and washed with distilled water. The spectra of the samples were recorded. The detection of irradiated wheats by this technique was possible at doses of ?2.5 kGy. An important advantage of this approach is that it is applicable even after eight months of storage

The effect of zinc-supplemented bread consumption on school children with asymptomatic zinc deficiency.

BACKGROUND: Zinc deficiency has been seen in developing countries in which grain-based vegetable protein is consumed more often than animal protein. This study was done to emphasize the importance of zinc-fortified foods and to investigate bioavailability of zinc in zinc-fortified bread. METHODS: Serum zinc concentrations in healthy 7- to 11-year-old school children were determined. In 24 of 101 children serum zinc concentrations were below 65 micrograms/ul. These 24 children with asymptomatic zinc deficiency were divided into two equal groups. The 12 children with low serum zinc concentrations received the zinc-fortified bread providing 2 mg/kg/day elemental zinc acetate for 90 days (zinc-supplemented group), whereas the other 12 children received the same quality bread with no zinc fortification (control group). RESULTS: By the end of the period, the zinc-supplemented group had significantly higher serum and leukocyte zinc concentrations (p < 0.01) and the weight, serum albumin levels, and alkaline phosphatase increased (p < 0.01). Immune functions improved, evidenced by conversion of delayed hypersensitivity skin reactions. Zinc-fortified bread (2 mg/kg/day) caused no side effects or manifestations of zinc toxicity. CONCLUSIONS: The results indicate that the bioavailability of zinc in the bread is satisfactory. The use of zinc-fortified bread was found to be an economical and readily accessible method to eliminate zinc deficiency and to prevent further occurrence

Effects of roller and hammer milling on the yield and physicochemical properties of fibre-rich fractions from biofortified and non-biofortified hull-less barley

This study was carried out to compare fibre-rich fractions (FRF) yields of two milling systems from hull-less barley cv. Yalin with and without biofortification (Yalin (+) and (-)) and investigate effect of biofortification (Zn, I, Se) on composition and physicochemical properties of fractions. Biofortification increased Zn, I, Se contents considerably. FRF yields of roller mill (FRFR) were 55.2 and 56.2 g/100g while those of hammer mill (FRFH) were 43.7 and 45.9 g/100g for Yalin (-) and Yalin (+), respectively. Pin-milling was applied for further enrichment. The yields of enriched fraction E-FRFR were 25.9 and 26.0 g/100g while yields of enriched fraction E-FRFH were 22.8 and 24.1 g/100g for Yalin (-) and Yalin (+), respectively. Beta-glucan contents of FRFR were 7.20 and 6.91 g/100g while those of FRFH were 8.91 and 8.09 g/100g for Yalin (-) and Yalin (+), respectively. Similarly, beta-glucan contents of E-FRFR were 12.91 and 12.33 g/100g while those of E-FRFH were 14.17 and 13.02 g/100g for Yalin (-) and Yalin (+), respectively. Enrichment increased RVA viscosities, porosities and decreased bulk densities, mass median diameters and dispersions. It can be concluded that barley grains that underwent biofortification can also be employed to give beta-glucan enriched milling fractions