Traditional and Non-Conventional Pasta-Making Processes: Effect on In Vitro Starch Digestibility.

Pasta is a carbohydrate-rich food with a low glycemic index (GI) and is one of the main sources of slowly digestible starch (SDS). The presence of bran fractions (BFs) in pasta may enhance its health potential, owing to the content of fiber, micronutrients, and bioactive compounds; however, at the same time, BF may affect starch digestibility. In this study, the bioaccessibility of starch in pasta made with BF-enriched semolina (BF pasta), or only with micronized debranned kernel (DK pasta), and a control pasta made with traditional semolina was evaluated by applying two different in vitro models.

From seed to cooked pasta: influence of traditional and non-conventional transformation processes on total antioxidant capacity and phenolic acid content.

The aim of this work was to compare the traditional with a non-conventional (i.e. kernel micronisation) durum wheat milling process by monitoring the content of bound, conjugated and free phenolic acids (PAs) and the level of the total antioxidant capacity (TAC) occurring in the durum wheat pasta production chain, from seed to cooked pasta.

Use of bran fractions and debranned kernels for the development of pasta with high nutritional and healthy potential.

The quality of pasta produced with debranning products (bran fractions, BF, and debranned kernels, DK) of durum wheat was investigated by evaluating their total antioxidant capacity, occurrence of nutritional and bioactive compounds, and sensory properties. Two pasta samples, produced with BF-enriched semolina (BF pasta) or only with micronized DK (DK pasta), respectively, were compared with pasta made with traditional semolina (control pasta). BF pasta and DK pasta displayed significantly higher content of bioactive compounds, such as phenolic compounds and dietary fibre, than control pasta, to a different extent for the diverse compounds.

The impact of the SSIIa mutations on grain traits and composition in durum wheat.

Starch represents a major nutrient in the human diet providing essentially a source of energy. More recently the modification of its composition has been associated with new functionalities both at the nutritional and technological level. Targeting the major starch biosynthetic enzymes has been shown to be a valuable strategy to manipulate the amylose-amylopectin ratio in reserve starch.

Fructan biosynthesis and degradation as part of plant metabolism controlling sugar fluxes during durum wheat kernel maturation.

Wheat kernels contain fructans, fructose based oligosaccharides with prebiotic properties, in levels between 2 and 35 weight % depending on the developmental stage of the kernel. To improve knowledge on the metabolic pathways leading to fructan storage and degradation, carbohydrate fluxes occurring during durum wheat kernel development were analyzed. Kernels were collected at various developmental stages and quali-quantitative analysis of carbohydrates (mono- and di-saccharides, fructans, starch) was performed, alongside analysis of the activities and gene expression of the enzymes involved in their biosynthesis and hydrolysis.

Qualitative and quantitative determination of peptides related to celiac disease in mixtures derived from different methods of simulated gastrointestinal digestion of wheat products.

During wheat digestion, gluten-derived proteolytic resistant peptides are generated, some of them involved in celiac disease. In vitro digestion models able to mimic the peptides generated in the human gastrointestinal tract are extremely useful to assess the pathogenicity of wheat-derived products. In this paper, samples belonging to three different durum wheat varieties were taken at six different steps of the pasta production chain and two different digestion models present in the literature were assessed on the different samples: a more complex one using artificial fluids simulating the exact composition of digestive juices, and a simplified method based on a peptic-tryptic/chymotryptic treatment of wheat ethanolic extract.

Identification and quantification of soluble free, soluble conjugated, and insoluble bound phenolic acids in durum wheat (Triticum turgidum L. var. durum) and derived products by RP-HPLC on a semimicro separation scale.

A straightforward semimicro separation scale RP-HPLC method was developed for the identification and quantification of phenolic acids (PAs) occurring as soluble free, soluble conjugated, and insoluble bound compounds, which were independently extracted from wholemeal of durum wheat and from its derived products coarse bran, semolina, and dried pasta. A narrow bore column and a semimicro photodiode array detector (PDA) cell, in conjunction with a single quadrupole mass spectrometer, equipped with an electrospray ionization source (ESI-MS), were employed. The method was validated in terms of linearity of calibration graphs, limits of detection, limits of quantification, repeatability, and accuracy, which was evaluated by a recovery study.

Quality and nutritional properties of pasta products enriched with immature wheat grain.

In this study, nutritional and sensory properties of pasta enriched with 30% immature wheat grain (IWG), a natural source of fructo-oligosaccharides (FOS), are evaluated. Colour and cooking quality, nutritional value and glycaemic index (GI) of pasta were assessed in comparison with commercially enriched inulin and 100% wholewheat pastas. IWG integration induced deep changes in colour, without negatively affecting the cooking quality of pasta, and promoted nutritional quality by increasing the fibre content; IWG pasta presented a remarkable leaching of FOS in cooking water, thus providing only 1 g of FOS per serving.

Structure-quality relationship in commercial pasta: a molecular glimpse.

Presence and stability of a protein network was evaluated by fluorescence spectroscopy, by protein solubility studies, and by assessing the accessibility of protein thiols in samples of commercial Italian semolina pasta made in industrial plants using different processes. The pasting properties of starch in each sample were evaluated by means of a viscoamylograph. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was used to evaluate water distribution and water mobility in dry pasta, and at various cooking times.

Durum wheat in conventional and organic farming: yield amount and pasta quality in Southern Italy.

Five durum wheat cultivars were grown in a Mediterranean area (Southern Italy) under conventional and organic farming with the aim to evaluate agronomic, technological, sensory, and sanitary quality of grains and pasta. The cultivar Matt produced the best pasta quality under conventional cropping system, while the quality parameters evaluated were unsatisfactory under organic farming. The cultivar Saragolla showed the best yield amount and pasta quality in all the experimental conditions, thus proving to be the cultivar more adapt to organic farming.

Properties of the protein and carbohydrate fractions in immature wheat kernels.

The time course of compositional changes in the polysaccharide and protein fractions, and of changes in protein structural properties, was investigated in grains of two Italian durum wheat cultivars, Ofanto and Duilio, and the pattern of changes was found to be specific to each cultivar. The fructo-oligosaccharide content in ripening kernels was different between cultivars, as was the pattern of starch accumulation. Evaluation of gluten proteins by Western-blotting using broad-specificity anti-gliadin antibodies showed the sudden appearance of immunoreactive proteins during ripening.