Variation in the Content of Dietary Fiber and Components Thereof in Wheats in the HEALTHGRAIN Diversity Screen

Abstract

Within the HEALTHGRAIN diversity screening program, the variation in the content of dietary fiber and components thereof in different types of wheat was studied. The wheat types were winter (131 varieties) and spring (20 varieties) wheats (both Triticum aestivum L., also referred to as common wheats), durum wheat (Triticum durum Desf., 10 varieties), spelt wheat (Triticum spelta L., 5 varieties), einkorn wheat (T. monococcum L., 5 varieties), and emmer wheat (Triticum dicoccum Schubler, 5 varieties). Common wheats contained, on average, the highest level of dietary fiber [11.5-18.3% of dry matter (dm)], whereas einkorn and emmer wheats contained the lowest level (7.2-12.8% of dm). Intermediate levels were measured in durum and spelt wheats (10.7-15.5% of dm). Also, on the basis of the arabinoxylan levels in bran, the different wheat types could be divided this way, with ranges of 12.7-22.1% of dm for common wheats, 6.1-14.4% of dm for einkorn and emmer wheats, and 10.9-13.9% of dm for durum and spelt wheats. On average, bran arabinoxylan made up ca. 29% of the total dietary fiber content of wheat. In contrast to what was the case for bran, the arabinoxylan levels in flour were comparable between the different types of wheat. For wheat, in general, they varied between 1.35 and 2.75% of dm. Einkorn, emmer, and durum wheats contained about half the level of mixed-linkage beta-glucan (0.25-0.45% of dm) present in winter, spring, and spelt wheats (0.50-0.95% of dm). All wheat types had Klason lignin, the levels of which varied from 1.40 to 3.25% of dm. The arabinoxylan contents in bran and the dietary fiber contents in wholemeal were inversely and positively related with bran yield, respectively. Aqueous wholemeal extract viscosity, a measure for the level of soluble dietary fiber, was determined to large extent by the level of water-extractable arabinoxylan. In conclusion, the present study revealed substantial variation in the contents of dietary fiber and constituents thereof between different wheat types and varieties.

Agronomic, nutritional and nutraceutical aspects of durum wheat (Triticum durum Desf.) cultivars under low input agricultural management

“…On the contrary, Iride, Senatore Cappelli and Urria 12 had the lowest values of SDF percentage (10%, 11% and 12%, respectively), showing a preponderance of insoluble fibre components. TDF content was higher than that previously reported by Gebruers et al (2008) for wholemeal durum wheat. However, the difference may be explained by the strong influence that genotype and environmental conditions have on the accumulation of fibre components in wheat grain Shewry et al, 2010).…”

Nutritional Impacts of Different Whole Grain Milling Techniques: A Review of Milling Practices and Existing Data

“…(The somewhat lower degree of variability would be expected because the land and climatic conditions vary less in the smaller country, which has fairly homogeneous topography and weather.) Similar variations were observed within species across varieties and growing regions in an extensive study undertaken as part of the European HEALTHGRAIN Project (74,75).…”

Chemical Composition and Nutritional Value of Emmer Wheat (Triticum dicoccon Schrank): a Review

“…As mentioned Demirbas (2005) ß-glucan is a major cell wall carbohydrate which is isolated from cereal grains. Grausgruber et al (2004) and Gebruers et al (2008) found that total ß-glucan content varied from 0.3 to 0.4% db in emmer, from 0.23 to 0.90% db in spelt and between 0.25 and 0.48% db in einkorn.…”