No abstract

Renewed interest in breeding for high anthocyanins in wheat (Triticum ssp.) is due to their antioxidant potential. A collection of different pigmented wheats was used to investigate the stability of anthocyanins over three crop years. The data show higher anthocyanins in blue-aleurone bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), followed by purple- and red-pericarp durum wheat (Triticum turgidum L. ssp. turgidum convar. durum), using cyanidin 3-O-glucoside as standard. HPLC of the anthocyanin components shows five to eight major anthocyanins for blue wheat extracts, compared to three anthocyanins for purple and red wheats. Delphinidin 3-O-rutinoside, delphinidin 3-O-glucoside, and malvidin 3-O-glucoside are predominant in blue wheat, with cyanidin 3-O-glucoside, peonidin 3-O-galactoside, and malvidin 3-O-glucoside in purple wheat. Of the total anthocyanins, 40-70% remain to be structurally identified. The findings confirm the high heritability for anthocyanins, with small genotype × year effects, which will be useful for breeding purposes, to improve the antioxidant potential of cereal-based foods.

BackgroundThe yellow colour of pasta products is one of the main criteria used by consumers to assess pasta quality. This character is due to the presence of carotenoid pigments in semolina. During pasta processing, oxidative degradation of carotenoid pigments occurs mainly due to lipoxygenase (LOX). In durum wheat (Triticum durum Desf.), two Lpx-1 genes have been identified on chromosome 4B, Lpx-B1.1 and Lpx-B1.2, and evidences have been reported that the deletion of Lpx-B1.1 is associated with a strong reduction in LOX activity in semolina. In the present study, we characterised the Lpx-B1 gene family identified in a durum wheat germplasm collection and related the distribution and expression of the Lpx-B1 genes and alleles to variations in LOX activity in the mature grains.ResultsIn addition to the already known Lpx-B1.1 and Lpx-B1.2 genes, a new gene was identified, Lpx-B1.3, along with three different Lpx-B1.1 alleles, Lpx-B1.1a, Lpx-B1.1b and the partially deleted Lpx-B1.1c. Screening of the germplasm collection showed that all of the genotypes have one of the three Lpx-B1.1 alleles, associated with either Lpx-B1.2 or Lpx-B1.3, thus showing that in this collection the two genes are alternatives. Therefore, based on Lpx-B1 distribution, three different haplotypes were distinguished: haplotype I, carrying Lpx-B1.3 and the Lpx-B1.1b allele; haplotype II carrying Lpx-B1.2 and the Lpx-B1.1a allele; and haplotype III carrying Lpx-B1.2 and the Lpx-B1.1c allele. Determination of Lpx-B1 transcript abundance and total LOX activity in mature grains revealed differences among these three haplotypes: haplotypes I, II and III showed high, intermediate and low levels, respectively, of functional Lpx-B1 transcripts and enzymatic activity.ConclusionsIn this germplasm collection, the Lpx-B1 gene family accounts for most of the total LOX activity in the mature grains. Information on these Lpx-B1 haplotypes provides significant improvement for prediction of LOX-1 activity levels in mature grains, and will therefore help in breeding programmes aimed at selection of new durum wheat genotypes with higher carotenoid contents in their end products.

In this study, the effects of different milling procedures (roller-milling vs. stone-milling) and pasta processing (fresh vs. dried spaghetti), and cooking on the antioxidant components and sensory properties of purple durum wheat were investigated. Milling and pasta processing were performed using one purple and one conventional non-pigmented durum wheat genotypes, and the end-products were compared with commercial pasta. The results show that the stone milling process preserved more compounds with high health value (total fibre and carotenoids, and in the purple genotype, also anthocyanins) compared to roller-milling. The drying process significantly (p<0.05) reduced the content of anthocyanins (21.42 μg/g vs. 46.32 μg/g) and carotenoids (3.77 μg/g vs. 4.04 μg/g) with respect to the pasteurisation process involved in fresh pasta production. The sensory properties of pasta from the purple genotype did not significantly differ from commercial wholemeal pasta, and its in vitro glycemic index was even lower. Thus, it is possible to consider this genetic material as a good ingredient for the production of functional foods from cereals naturally rich in bioactive compounds.