Functional, antioxidant and rheological properties of meal from immature durum wheat

Mixtures obtained by the addition to semolina of wholemeal flour derived from durum wheat kernels harvested at the milky phase were analysed for their levels of fructans, vitamin C, glutathione and for their rheological characteristics to evaluate the possibility of obtaining wholemeal with increased nutritional value for preparing functional foods, without addition of exogenous additives or antioxidants. Wholemeal from immature kernels (WIK) contained almost three times more fructans than semolina from mature kernels (SMK). Moreover, wholemeal from immature kernels contained much higher amounts of ascorbate and glutathione than SMK. Consistently, wholemeal from immature kernels also had higher total antioxidant capability than SMK. The addition of a certain percentage of WIK to SMK conferred an increased tenacity to the dough. The role of the different biochemical properties, mainly related to the ascorbate redox enzymes, of WIK versus SMK in determining the rheological properties of the mixtures is discussed.