Enhanced γ-aminobutyric acid accumulation, alleviated componential deterioration and technofunctionality loss of germinated wheat by hypoxia stress

Germination is an effective biofortification strategy to enhance micronutrients of staple grains. The current study targeted at comparing the effects of normoxia and hypoxia on γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) content and the componential changes underlying the technofunctionality of germinated wheat. Compared with ungerminated wheat, GABA maximumly enhanced by 88.73% and 50.70% in hypoxia- and normoxia-germinated wheat (HGW and NGW), respectively. Hypoxia suppressed the germination degree of wheat, which better preserved the technofunctionality. Compared with NGW, the proteolytic and α-amylase activities were partially inhibited for HGW, resulting in higher protein and starch content. The diminishment of gluten marcopolymers and soluble high-molecular-weight proteins, and conversion of α-helices to β-turns were alleviated in HGW, which contributed to the more viscoelastic dough. Meanwhile, superior pasting and gelation properties were mainly due to suppressed α-amylase activity and more starch content in HGW. The results suggested that HGW flour can be exploited as a functional staple ingredient.