Characterization of wheat gluten subunits by liquid chromatography – Mass spectrometry and their relationship to technological quality of wheat

The quality of common wheat is largely influenced by the composition of its storage proteins. The currently presented research explores factors influencing observed differences in quality and quantity between wheat cultivars, in particular in relation to gluten composition and its relationship to technological characteristics. Eight wheat cultivars (H. Wieser, Seilmeier, W., Belitz, H.D., 1994 Parsi, Sirvan, Sivand, Pishgam, Pishtaz)were selected for evaluation. Analysis results demonstrated that Morvarid and Sirvan cultivars yielded the highest quality of wheat, while the Chamran cultivar was indicated as the most favorable for baking Taftoon bread. Conversely, the Sepahan cultivar was deemed to have the worse quality in both categories. A Q Exactive LC-MS/MS system was employed to evaluate the most effective sub-fractions of gliadin and glutenin on wheat quality. Matching peptides resulting from trypsin digestion on gliadin and glutenin fractions, led to the identification of subunits α/β-gliadin, γ-gliadin, HMW-Dx5, HMW-Bx17, HMW-Dy3, HMW-Dy10, HMW-By15, LMW-m, LMW-s, and LMW-i. The obtained results indicated that the most influential subunits of glutenin on wheat quality were Dy10, Dy3 and Dx5, while the most effective gliadin subfraction was noted to be α/β-gliadin However, the most important subunit influencing the quality of flat breads in particular was identified as the x-HMW-GS, in particular the Bx17 subunit, and LMW-GS.     

Carotenoid profiling of Hordeum chilense grains: The parental proof for the origin of the high carotenoid content and esterification pattern of tritordeum

The outstanding high carotenoid content of the tritordeum (×Tritordeum Ascherson et Graebner) grains, a promising novel cereal derived from the crossing of durum wheat and the wild barley Hordeum chilense, has previously been assigned as a character derived from the genetic background of its wild parent. The carotenoid profile of H. chilense, especially the lutein esters presented in this study, provide biochemical evidences to confirm this affirmation, being the first time that the individual carotenoid profile of this cereal has been characterized. The total carotenoid content (6.14 ± 0.12 μg/g) and the individual carotenoid composition were very similar to the tritordeum grains, with lutein being the major carotenoid (88%; 5.38 ± 0.11 μg/g) and very low levels of β-carotene. In contrast to tritordeum, H. chilense presented a considerable amount of zeaxanthin (12%; 0.74 ± 0.01 μg/g). Up to 55% of lutein was esterified with palmitic (C16:0) and linoleic (C18:2) acids, presenting a characteristic acylation pattern, in agreement with the tritordeum one, and composed by four monoesters (lutein 3′-O-linoleate, lutein 3-O-linoleate, lutein 3′-O-palmitate and lutein 3-O-palmitate) and four diesters (lutein dilinoleate, lutein 3′-O-linoleate-3-O-palmitate, lutein 3′-O-palmitate-3-O-linoleate, lutein dipalmitate). These data may be useful in the field of carotenoid biofortification of cereals.     

Effects of genotype and environment on avenanthramides and antioxidant activity of oats grown in northwestern China

To investigate the effects of genotype and growing environment on avenanthramides and antioxidant activity of oats, the total phenolic content (TPC), avenanthramide compositions, and antioxidant activity were determined for whole oat from 39 cultivars grown in four locations in northwestern China (Inner Mongolia, Qinghai, Shanxi and Gansu). The results demonstrated that environment (E), genotype (G) and the interaction of these factors (E × G) significantly affected TPC, concentration of avenanthramide 2c (2c, ranged from 6.24 to 136.20 mg kg⁻¹), avenanthramide 2p (2p, 6.07–112.25 mg kg⁻¹), avenanthramide 2f (2f, 7.26–222.77 mg kg⁻¹) and antioxidant activity of oats. The effect of E was considerably greater than that of G or E × G. Based on G plus G × E interaction biplots (GGE biplots) analysis, the four locations in northwestern China can be divided into either two or three regions. Qinghai was determined to be distinct from the other locations. Cultivar Bayou 9 and oats grown in Gansu exhibited the highest TPCs, concentrations of 2c, 2p, 2f and antioxidant activity. The results suggest that oats containing more avenanthramides and exhibiting high levels of antioxidant activity could be obtained by selecting an appropriate genotype and growth location.     

Improvement bread characteristics of high level sunn pest (Eurygaster integriceps) damaged wheat by using transglutaminase and some additives

The purpose of this study was to improve the baking quality of high level sunn pest damaged wheat (HLSPDW; 20.6%) sample by using at varying levels transglutaminase, and fixed additive combination (diacetyl tartaric acid esters of mono and diglycerides + citric acid + L-ascorbic acid) with or without transglutaminase. It was observed that transglutaminase plays an important role in baking quality of HLSPDW. The increase in transglutaminase caused very clear increase on bread characteristics of wheat. Bread yield, height, pore structure, and crumb softness values increased sharply; weight loss and wideness of bread samples decreased accurately depending on increasing transglutaminase level. This increase did not affect obviously on bread quality at a certain proportion (0.3%). However, when the transglutaminase was more than 0.3% and depend on increase of percentage, bread characteristics showed significant increase. It was determined that, in the absence of transglutaminase; other additives could not improve the bread qualities examined. The unique application of using transglutaminase was found to be considerably to improve the bread quality of the HLSPDW. Overall results indicate that the properties of the bread from HLSPDW can be restored by the addition of transglutaminase. The highly disrupted protein structure present in the HLSPDW gluten requires higher transglutaminase concentrations.     

Phenolic compounds profile in sorghum processed by extrusion cooking and dry heat in a conventional oven

Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L.) is a gluten-free cereal that has the highest content of phenolic compounds among cereals. It needs to be processed prior to use for human consumption, which may change its antioxidant profile. The knowledge on the effects of extrusion and dry heat in a conventional oven on flavones, flavanones, and proanthocyanidins is limited. Thus, the content and stability to dry heat in a conventional oven (DHCO) and extrusion cooking on phenolic compounds profile in sorghum genotypes were evaluated. Flavanones and flavones decreased after extrusion cooking (100%) and DHCO (31.7–61.6%). The 3-deoxyanthocyanidins were stable in DHCO but were susceptible to extrusion cooking (70.7–93.9%). Proanthocyanidins were identified only in the genotype SC391 and were reduced after both treatments (DHCO: 39.2% and extrusion cooking: 52.1%). Phenols decreased in the genotype SC319 submitted to DHCO (8.3%) and in all extruded genotypes (13.6–14.9%). The DHCO increased the antioxidant capacity in all genotypes, whereas extrusion cooking reduced antioxidant capacity in only two genotypes. In general, differential stability of the major flavonoids in sorghum was observed under DHCO and extrusion cooking, implying that different processing techniques can be selected to minimize losses of bioactive polyphenols in sorghum depending on the flavonoid composition.     

猪瘟活疫苗效力检验替代方法的研究

目前,我国猪瘟活疫苗效力检验最常用的方法是测定猪瘟疫苗中病毒的兔体感染量(RID),但是用该方法易受到检验兔品种、个体和饲养环境的影响。为了探索一种不依赖动物的疫苗效力检验新方法,本研究将待检猪瘟活疫苗系列稀释后分别接种易感细胞,使用抗原捕获ELISA、RT-nest PCR和RT-PCR三种方法检测不同稀释度疫苗中活病毒在感染细胞后增殖的子代病毒,计算疫苗病毒的最高细胞感染剂量,建立了猪瘟疫苗病毒的细胞感染量(CID)的效力检验方法。结果显示:疫苗中活病毒粒子越多,CID就越高;对不同类型猪瘟疫苗的检测结果表明,该方法适用于传代细胞源和细胞源猪瘟活疫苗的效力效检。使用CID和RID两种检测方法同时对12批猪睾丸传代细胞源(传代细胞源)和3批牛睾丸原代细胞源(细胞源)猪瘟活疫苗进行了比对效检,结果表明,用CID测定方法检验,12批猪瘟活疫苗(传代细胞源)每头份均含105CID,3批猪瘟活疫苗(细胞源)每头份含量均为104CID;用兔子感染体温测定法,12批猪瘟活疫苗(传代细胞源)每头份含量在2.6×104~3.0×104RID之间,3批猪瘟活疫苗(细胞源)每头份含7.0×103~8.0×103RID。试验证明:本实验室建立的CID检测结果与现有质量标准RID的结果存在良好的相关性,能够较好反映疫苗中活病毒的含量,有望成为RID的替代方法。     

Anti-hyperglycemic effect of Potentilla discolor decoction on obese-diabetic (Ob-db) mice and its chemical composition

Potentilla discolor is used as an ethnomedicine in treatments of diabetes mellitus in China for years. In the present study, the anti-hyperglycemic effects of a clinical active extract (decoction) from P. discolor were investigated in Ob-db mice. Four week's treatment of P. discolor decoction ameliorated the development of hyperlipidemia, lipid peroxidation and hyperglycemia associated with hyperphagia and polydypsia in Ob-db mice. P. discolor significantly attenuated the increase of blood glucose and cholesterol levels in Ob-db mice. These findings clearly provided evidences regarding the anti-hyperglycemic potentials of P. discolor decoction. High-resolution liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry/mass spectrometry (HR-LC-MS/MS) was used to analyze the phytochemicals in P. discolor decoction. In an comprehensive analysis of phytochemicals in P. discolor, thirty‐five components were identified or characterized in P. discolor decoction and only sixteen of them have been reported in P. discolor previously. There are five major components identified in P. discolor decoction. One of the major components is a flavonoid sulfate, and this is the first evidence for the presences of sulfated flavonoid in P. discolor. Sulfated flavonoids have been reported to improve the complications of diabetes mellitus by inhibition of the aldose reductase in both experimental animals and clinical trials. Therefore, the sulfated flavonoid in P. discolor decoction may in part contribute to the anti-hyperglycemic effect of P. discolor.     

Carotenoid evolution during postharvest storage of durum wheat (Triticum turgidum conv. durum) and tritordeum (×Tritordeum Ascherson et Graebner) grains

The process of in vivo esterification of xanthophylls has proven to be an important part of the post-carotenogenesis metabolism which mediates their accumulation in plants. The biochemical characterization of this process is therefore necessary for obtaining new and improved crop varieties with higher carotenoid contents. This study investigates the impact of postharvest storage conditions on carotenoid composition, with special attention to the esterified pigments (monoesters, diesters and their regioisomers), in durum wheat and tritordeum, a novel cereal with remarkable carotenoid content. For tritordeum grains, the total carotenoid content decreased during the storage period in a clear temperature-dependent manner. On the contrary, carotenoid metabolism in durum wheat was very much dependent on the physiological adaptation of the grains to the imposed conditions. Interestingly, when thermal conditions were more intense (37 °C), a higher carotenoid retention was observed for tritordeum, and was directly related to the de novo esterification of the lutein induced by temperature. The profile of lutein monoester regioisomers was constant during storage, indicating that the regioisomeric selectivity of the XAT enzymes was not altered by temperature. These data can be useful for optimizing the storage conditions of grains favoring a greater contribution of carotenoids from these staple foods.     

Physicochemical and functional characterization of wheat milling co-products: Fine grinding to achieve high fiber antioxidant-rich fractions

Milling of wheat produces co-products rich in dietary fiber, micronutrients and phytochemicals which can be used to integrate healthy functional foods. In the study different co-products including bran, shorts, and red dog were identified by physicochemical and functional analyses. The results showed that the fat, protein and starch contents decreased in order of red dog > shorts > bran (P < 0.05). The ash, neutral detergent fiber (NDF), acid detergent fiber (ADF), hemicellulose, water and oil holding capacities (WHC, OHC) were in order bran > shorts > red dog, respectively (P < 0.05). Antioxidant capacity was in order red dog > shorts > bran (P < 0.05). The bran was selected as the co-product with the highest fiber that was finely grounded to four different fractions (>355, 250–355, 180–250, <180 μm) and they were characterized more detail. The fat, protein and starch contents decreased with increasing bran particle size (P < 0.05). The ash, crude fiber, NDF, ADF, hemicellulose and WHC and OHC increased with the increasing bran particle size (P < 0.05). DPPH radical scavenging activity increased with increasing particle size (P < 0.05). The bran fractions 250–355 and >355 μm can be used as high fiber ingredients rich in antioxidants to generate functional foods.     

LC-MS analysis reveals the presence of graminan- and neo-type fructans in wheat grains

This is the first study describing the fine structure of the main, individual fructan oligosaccharides present in wheat grains. Wheat grain fructan structure was investigated in developing wheat grains and in different tissues of mature grains with liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. Fructan oligosaccharides with a low degree of polymerization (<5) were mainly of the graminan- and inulin-type in developing wheat grains during the first week after anthesis. Starting from 14 days after anthesis, neo-type fructans, fructans with an internal glucose, were observed for the first time. Several neo-type fructan structures were identified and their portion in the total fructan pool gradually increased during grain development. In the mature kernel, almost no differences were noted between the fructan distributions of wheat flour and two wheat bran fractions enriched in either pericarp or aleurone tissue. Results are related to wheat fructan metabolizing enzymes and the nutritional implications are discussed.