Whole meal and white flour from Argentine wheat genotypes: Mineral and arabinoxylan differences

• The main factor accounting for the variability for T-AX variation was harvest year.
• WE-AX content was more influenced by genotype.
• Arabinoxylan and mineral milling lost depend on genotype and harvest year.
• The extent of environment vs genotype influence depend on minerals and flour types.

The aim of this study was to compare mineral and arabinoxylan contents in whole meal and white wheat flour, as well as delineate the influence of genotype and climatic conditions on the variation of these components. Eleven commercial bread wheat cultivars from Argentina obtained in two consecutive harvests were analyzed. Protein, arabinoxylan, mineral concentration and localization were determined. For T-AX variation, year was the main factor accounting for the variability found both in whole meal and in white flour, while WE-AX content was more influenced by genotype on both fractions. There was an average reduction of 56% of T-AX after milling. Mineral content was significantly influenced by genotype and harvest years. Milling significantly reduced the concentration of all the elements (p < 0.05). Fe and Zn concentrations in white flour were highly variable. Milling loss had a wide variation from 10 to 74% for Fe, and from 19 to 68% for Zn. Genotypes with lower T-AX, Fe and Zn milling losses than the average were found in this study. This together with the total contents of these components in the grain should be taken into account when the purpose is to improve Zn, Fe, AX content in white flour.