Nutritional and nutraceutical aspects of KAMUT^® khorasan wheat grown during the last two decades

Abstract

SUMMARYRecently, organic farming systems have attracted the attention of consumers because of their low environmental impact. Organic agriculture is a valid alternative to conventional farming and ancient wheat, such as KAMUT® khorasan wheat (T. turgidum ssp. turanicum), has emerged as an industry leader for its nutritional and functional properties (anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and prebiotic).The aim of the present study was to evaluate environmental effects on the quality of KAMUT® khorasan grains harvested in the last two decades (1989–2012) on one farm in Montana (USA), through the evaluation of phytochemical accumulation. Results revealed high variability in the amounts of macronutrients and nutraceuticals. In particular, from 1989 to 2012, there was a decreasing trend in starch content (ranging from 70·87 to 50·54/100 g) and amylose (from 41·48 to 31·46% of total starch) with a slight increase of insoluble dietary fibre (from 12·14 to 17·75/100 g). The soluble dietary fibre content varied among the years of cultivation even if the general trend remained constant (4·57–2·82/100 g). High variability of total polyphenols content was observed with the free soluble fraction present at lower levels than bound polyphenols (BP). Moreover, an inverse correlation between free and BP was observed. The results obtained in the present study show that the influence of environmental conditions plays a fundamental role in the accumulation of primary and secondary metabolites in wheat kernels and strongly modulate the nutritional and nutraceutical value of flour.

Differential Physiological Responses Elicited by Ancient and Heritage Wheat Cultivars Compared to Modern Ones

“…The phytochemicals and micronutrients content of wheat is strongly influenced by its genetics but also and profoundly by the environment and by the interaction between genetics and the environment. To compare different varieties of wheat, it is, therefore, necessary to cultivate them in the same environment and in the same year to minimize these important biases [30]. Agronomic and quality characteristics of old, heritage, and modern wheat varieties were analyzed in a study aimed primarily at organic farming [31].…”

Determination of free and bound antioxidants in Kamut® wheat by HPLC with triple detector (DAD-CAD-MS)

“…Despite the richness of polyphenols in Kamut® wheat, identifying its main antioxidant compounds remains limited. While some studies have investigated its total polyphenol content ( Suchowilska et al, 2020 ), others have focused on its environmental adaptability ( Di Loreto et al, 2017 ), or its nutritional value in comparison with conventional wheat ( Dinu et al, 2018 , Thorup et al, 2014 ). Instead, this study aims to comprehensively profile both the free and bound phenolic fractions from Kamut® wheat using an advanced HPLC system with three detectors; diode-array (DAD), CoulArray (CAD), and high-resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS) detectors.…”