The aim of the study was to determine whether phenolic compounds in some varieties of buckwheat, winter and spring barley and peas can be used as factors which distinguish selected cultivars and varieties of plant material. It was observed that the content of total phenolics might be useful as a cultivar-distinguishing factor for all the plant materials analyzed, but it was a distinguishing factor for only some varieties. Individual cultivars and varieties were best distinguished by the content of syringic acid. The levels of syringic and vanillic acids were in reverse proportion to the total amount of phenolics soluble in methanol and a positive correlation between syringic and ferulic acid was observed. Moreover, the protein content of plant material was analyzed and a significant (p ≤ 0.05) correlation between this component and ferulic and vanillic acids was noted.

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Acrylamide (AA) is a neurotoxic and carcinogenic substance that has recently been discovered in food. One of the factors affecting its formation is the heat treatment method. This review discusses the microwave heating as one of the methods of thermal food processing and the influence of microwave radiation on the acrylamide formation in food. In addition, conventional and microwave heating were compared, especially the way they affect the AA formation in food. Available studies demonstrate differences in the mechanisms of microwave and conventional heating. These differences may be beneficial or detrimental depending on different processes. The published studies showed that microwave heating at a high power level can cause greater AA formation in products than conventional food heat treatment. The higher content of acrylamide in microwave-heated foods may be due to differences in its formation during microwave heating and conventional methods. At the same time, short exposure to microwaves (during blanching and thawing) at low power may even limit the formation of acrylamide during the final heat treatment. Considering the possible harmful effects of microwave heating on food quality (e.g., intensive formation of acrylamide), further research in this direction should be carried out.

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The influence that food heating has on the concentration of acrylamide in home-cooked potato dishes prepared by high-temperature, such as pan-frying, deep-frying, roasting and microwave heating was analyzed. The experiment was performed with commercially available deep-frozen par-fried French fries and deep-frozen par-fried potato products other than French fries (cubes, wedges, noisettes, pancakes). Acrylamide was found in all deep-frozen par-fried French fries and other deep-frozen par-fried potato products before domestic preparation. The mean level of acrylamide content in all frozen potato products before preparation was found to be 322 μg/kg. Potato products were then prepared at 180 °C for 3 min and at 220 °C for 10 min. After domestic preparation (roasting, pan-frying, deep-frying and microwave heating) it was found that the level of acrylamide in all products increased. Acrylamide content in the analyzed samples significantly increased as the temperature and time of processing increased. The statistical analysis showed significant differences (P < 0.05) for acrylamide content as a function of food preparation. The level of acrylamide increased with the increased heating temperature and heating time. Additionally, the preparation method of roasting was significantly lower in acrylamide content (P < 0.05) than the preparation method of microwaving although both preparation methods used the same conditions (time and temperature). These results suggest that microwaving might be more favourable to the formation of acrylamide than conventional heating methods, such as roasting.