Moisture Distribution and Structural Properties of Frozen Cooked Noodles with NaCl and Kansui

The effects of NaCl (1–3%) and kansui (0.5–1.5%) on the quality of frozen cooked noodles (FCNs) were investigated, which provided a reference for alleviating the quality deterioration of FCNs. Textural testing illustrated that the optimal tensile properties were observed in 2% NaCl (N-2) and the maximum hardness and chewiness were reached at 1% kansui (K-1). Compared to NaCl, the water absorption and cooking loss of recooked FCNs increased significantly with increasing kansui levels (p < 0.05). Rheological results confirmed NaCl and kansui improved the resistance to deformation and recovery ability of thawed dough; K-1 especially had the highest dough strength. SEM showed N-2 induced a more elongated fibrous protein network that contributed to the extensibility, while excessive levels of kansui formed a deformed membrane-like gluten network that increased the solid loss. Moisture analysis revealed that N-2 reduced the free water content, while K-1 had the lowest freezable water content and highest binding capacity for deeply adsorbed water. The N-2 and K-1 induced more ordered protein secondary structures with stronger intermolecular disulfide bonds, which were maximally improved in K-1. This study provides more comprehensive theories for the strengthening effect of NaCl and kansui on FCNs quality.

Protein Enrichment of Wheat Bread with Microalgae: Microchloropsis gaditana, Tetraselmis chui and Chlorella vulgaris

Cell wall disrupted and dried Microchloropsis gaditana (Mg), Tetraselmis chui (Tc) and Chlorella vulgaris (Cv) microalgae biomasses, with or without ethanol pre-treatment, were added to wheat bread at a wheat flour substitution level of 12%, to enrich bread protein by 30%. Baking performance, protein quality and basic sensory properties were assessed. Compared to wheat, Mg, Tc and Cv contain higher amounts of essential amino acids and their incorporation markedly improved protein quality in the bread (DIAAS 57–66 vs 46%). The incorporation of microalgae reduced dough strength and bread volume and increased crumb firmness. This was most pronounced for Cv and Tc but could be improved by ethanol treatment. Mg gave adequate dough strength, bread volume and crumb structure without ethanol treatment. To obtain bread of acceptable smell, appearance, and colour, ethanol treatment was necessary also for Mg as it markedly reduced the unpleasant smell and intense colour of all algae breads. Ethanol treatment reduced the relative content of lysine, but no other essential amino acids. However, it also had a negative impact on in vitro protein digestibility. Our results show that Mg had the largest potential for protein fortification of bread, but further work is needed to optimize pre-processing and assess consumer acceptance.

Effect of Nitrogen Fertilization and Fungicide Application at Heading on the Gluten Protein Composition and Rheological Quality of Wheat

Optimizing the bread-making quality properties of flour is currently one of the main aims of the bakery industry. Therefore, this study has investigated the effects of N fertilization and fungicide application at wheat heading on the protein content (GPC), gluten composition and rheological properties of wheat. Field experiments were carried out in North-West Italy over a 3 year period, on a high protein cultivar of soft winter wheat. Grain samples were collected for each agronomic treatment at four ripening timings, from the milk stage to the final combine harvesting, and the contents of the different gluten fractions were quantified. The late N fertilization increased the GPC (+1.2%) and dough strength (W) (+22%) as a result of a similar enhancement of all the gluten protein fractions, while the fungicide application slightly reduced the GPC (−0.3%) and W (−4%), mainly because of a dilution of the gliadin content, due to the significantly higher grain yield (+8.6%) and thousand kernel weight (+5.5%). These agronomic practices did not modify the gluten composition significantly, expressed as the relative ratio between the gliadins (glia) and the high (HMW) and low (LMW) molecular weight glutenins (gs), and confirmed by the accumulation trend of the different protein fractions during ripening. The year resulted to have the most marked effect on the gluten protein fraction ratios and alveographic parameters. The lowest W was observed in 2015, and although the highest GPC was recorded for the same year, the lowest gs/glia ratio was also observed. Instead, 2016 showed the highest gs/glia and HMW-gs/LMW-gs (H/L) ratios, and also the highest P/L value (2.2). In 2015, a slightly higher temperature during the ripening stage resulted in a greater increase in the γ-gliadin enriched fraction than the α/β gliadin ones, and marked differences were noted in the rheological traits. This field experiment has highlighted the interactive role of environmental and agronomic factors on the content and quality of gluten proteins and their bread-making ability, thus making a further contribution to the development of an integrated crop strategy for the cultivation of high protein wheat in humid Mediterranean areas.

Targeted resurrection of chromosomal arm 1RS in two elite wheat lines with 1BL/1RS translocation for improved end-use quality

1BL/1RS translocation is widely used around the world to enhance wheat yield potential, resistance to various diseases, and adaptation. However, the translocation is combined with inherent quality problems associated with reduced dough strength and dough stickiness due to the presence of Sec-1 on proximal end and absence of GluB3/GliB1 on distal end. Two NILs, one carrying the distal (1RSRW) and the other carrying the proximal (1RSWR) fragment from 1BS, in background of Pavon were used for transferring these two loci in yellow rust resistant version of two elite wheat varieties PBW550+Yr5 and DBW17+Yr5. Foreground and background marker assisted selection was done for the Sec-1- and GluB3+ alongwith Lr26/Yr9/Sr31, Pm8 and 1RS loci in the advancing generation. BC2F5:6 NILs with absence of Secalin and presence of GluB3/GliB1 loci were evaluated for two years in replicated yield trial. A positive correlation of thousand grain weight (TGW), harvest index (HI), and tiller number per meter (TNpM) with yield (YD) with significant GxE effect was observed. Further multivariate analysis of these traits contributed maximum to the effective yield. Thirty promising NILs were identified with Sec-1-/GluB3+ alongwith with high yield contributing parameters.

Response of Wheat Storage Proteins and Breadmaking Quality to Dimethylpyrazole-Based Nitrification Inhibitors under Different Nitrogen Fertilization Splitting Strategies

Improving fertilizer nitrogen (N) use efficiency is essential to increase crop productivity and avoid environmental damage. This study was conducted during four crop cycles of winter wheat under humid Mediterranean conditions (Araba, northern Spain). The effects of N-fertilization splitting and the application of the nitrification inhibitors (NIs) 3,4-dimethylpyrazole phosphate (DMPP) and 2-(3,4-dimethyl-1H-pyrazol-1-yl) succinic acid isomeric mixture (DMPSA) as strategies to improve grain quality were examined. The hypothesis of this study was to test if the partial ammonium nutrition and the reduction of fertilizer losses presumably induced by the application of NIs can modify the grain gliadin and glutenin protein contents and the breadmaking quality (dough rheological properties). Among both NIs assayed, only DMPP showed a slight effect of decreasing the omega gliadin fraction, following splitting either two or three times, although this effect was dependent on the year and was not reflected in terms of dough extensibility. The slight decreases observed in grain quality in terms of dough strength and glutenin content induced by DMPP suggest that DMPSA is more promising in terms of maintaining grain quality. Nonetheless, these poor effects exerted by NI application on grain quality parameters did not lead to changes in the quality parameters defining the flour aptitudes for breadmaking.

The effect of glutenins on grain quality as one of the complex polygenic traits in the genus Triticum (a review)

Evaluation of plant breeding material, based on protein markers, gives an opportunity to perform rapid and reliable selection and control the transfer of desired traits from parents to their progeny. A search for new and stable protein markers is needed to identify genotypes with high grain quality. Such storage proteins in wheat as glutenins have been studied profoundly enough. Full characterization of individual protein fractions and components can be found in many scienti fic publications, while studying genetic patterns of protein accumulation in the grain of different wheat cultivars and using high-molecular-weight (HMW) and lowmolecular-weight (LMW) glutenin subunits (GS) for genotype identi fication remain high in the research agenda. This is a comprehensive review of scienti fic publications about the structure and molecular organization of glutenins and a comparative analysis of 22 research papers about the degree of their effect on grain quality indicators: SDS-sedimentation volume (ml), grain/ flour protein content (%; 14% m.b.; 12,5% m.b.), mixing time (min), mixing tolerance (min; mm), bread loaf volume (cm3; ml), dough strength (10 -4 J), and P/L ratio. As a result of reviewing, the best alleles (subunits) of glutenin were identi fied, namely: Glu-A1а, Glu-B1(h, f, b), Glu-D1d, Glu-A3d, and Glu-B3d.

Technological Properties and Consumer Acceptability of Bakery Products Enriched with Brewers’ Spent Grains

Nowadays, brewers’ spent grains (BSG) is considered the most abundant and low-cost brewing by-products, presenting a great potential as a functional food ingredient. Since BSG is rich in dietary fiber and protein, it can be a raw material of interest in bakery products. However, blending wheat flour with BSG can affect dough rheology and the structural and sensorial properties of products. In this context, BSG flour at different levels (0%, 5%, and 10%) was used to enrich three commercial soft wheat flours, and to develop new formulations for bakery products (bread, breadsticks and pizza). As expected, the enrichment caused a significant increase of proteins, dietary fibers, lipids, and ash related to the BSG enrichment level. Significant changes in dough rheological properties (e.g., higher water absorption, lower development time and stability, dough strength, and tenacity) and in the color of the crust and crumbs of bakery products were also observed. At last, the consumer test pointed out that the 5% BSG enrichment showed the higher overall acceptability of proposed bakery products.

Effects of Nitrogen Application in the Wheat Booting Stage on Glutenin Polymerization and Structural–Thermal Properties of Gluten with Variations in HMW-GS at the Glu-D1 Locus

Wheat gluten properties can be improved by the application of nitrogen. This study investigates the effects of nitrogen application in the booting stage on glutenin polymerization during grain-filling and structural–thermal properties of gluten based on the high-molecular-weight glutenin subunits (HMW-GSs) using near-isogenic lines (Glu-1Da and Glu-1Dd). The nitrogen rate experiment included rates of 0, 60, 90, and 120 kg N ha−1 applied with three replicates. Nitrogen significantly improved the grain quality traits (wet gluten contents, Zeleny sedimentation values, and maximum resistance) and dough strength (dough development time, dough stability time, and protein weakening), especially in wheat with the Glu-1Da allele. Nitrogen increased the protein composition contents, proportions of glutenins and HMW-GSs, and disulfide bond concentration in the flours of Glu-1Da and Glu-1Dd, and accelerated the polymerization of glutenins (appearing as glutenin macropolymer) during grain-filling, where nitrogen enhanced the accumulation and polymerization of glutenins more for line containing Glu-1Da than Glu-1Dd. The β-sheets, α-helix/β-sheet ratio, microstructures, and thermal stability were also improved to a greater degree by nitrogen for gluten with Glu-1Da compared to Glu-1Dd. Nitrogen treatment was highly effective at improving the gluten structural‒thermal properties of wheat in the booting stage, especially with inferior glutenin subunits.

The production of wheat – Aegilops sharonensis 1Ssh chromosome substitution lines harboring alien novel high-molecular-weight glutenin subunits

In our previous work, a novel high-molecular-weight glutenin subunit (HMW-GS) with an extremely large molecular weight from Aegilops sharonensis was identified that may contribute to excellent wheat (Triticum aestivum) processing quality and increased dough strength, and we further generated HMW-GS homozygous lines by crossing. In this study, we crossed the HMW-GS homozygous line 66-17-52 with ‘Chinese Spring’ Ph1 mutant CS ph1b to induce chromosome recombination between wheat and Ae. sharonensis. SDS-PAGE was used to identify 19 derived F2 lines with the HMW-GSs of Ae sharonensis. The results of non-denaturing fluorescence in situ hybridization (ND-FISH) indicated that lines 6-1 and 6-7 possessed a substitution of both 5D chromosomes by a pair of 1Ssh chromosomes. Further verification by newly developed 1Ssh-specific chromosome markers showed that these two lines amplified the expected fragment. Thus, it was concluded that lines 6-1 and 6-7 are 1Ssh(5D) chromosome substitution lines. The 1Ssh(5D) chromosome substitution lines, possessing alien subunits with satisfactory quality-associated structural features of large repetitive domains and increased number of subunits, may have great potential in strengthening the viscosity and elasticity of dough made from wheat flour. Therefore, these substitution lines can be used for wheat quality improvement and further production of 1Ssh translocation lines.

Effect of Wheat Germ on Quality of Wheat Bread Dough

The most interesting component of wheat is the wheat germ that is recognized as a secondary product in the industry of wheat milling; it has fascinating nutritional values that cannot be ignored. However, it has slender usage due to its significant chance of rancidity and the negative effect it causes the dough quality. Investigation in this study showed that how wheat germ affects the rheological quality of dough and the influences on the final product by its addition to bread, also to find out the best and most amount of wheat germ addition with the best bread quality that is unrecognizable by customers. For this intention, divergent quantities of the mille draw germ of wheat (5%, 10%, 15%, and 20%) were added to the flour used for making bread dough. Afterward, the dough’s rheological characteristics and the endmost quality characteristics of the bread were analyzed and compared to the control sample from both the Sensory evaluation and physical evaluation sentiments. Wheat germ insertion to dough flour caused an increase browning of the dough but decreased dough firmness, stretch-ability, and dough strength. The more the amount of the additional wheat germ to the wheat dough, the more the changes appeared, including decreasing extensibility and strength in addition to taste the difference. The bread made from dough with the highest amount of inserted wheat germ dispensed the smaller volume, less elasticity, and cohesiveness, while more firm and darker in color of both crust and crumb of the product. All bread acquired allowable outcomes in the sensory examination, yet inserting of wheat germ with a rate of (20% to flour) decreased appearance, texture, and overall acceptability outcomes of bread. Consequently, the addition of the germ worsens the rheology attribution of dough, lessen gelatinization temperature and qualification of bread, so it has to be added in a particular amount to keep both nutritional value and the quality of the bread as high as possible.