Temperature-dependent decay of wheat germ agglutinin activity and its implications for food processing and analysis

Effect of sourdough fermentation on stabilisation, and chemical and nutritional characteristics of wheat germ

“…The human consumption of wheat germ is mainly limited by the presence of some anti-nutritional factors: (i) raffinose (Dubois, Geddes, & Smith, 1960), not digested by pancreatic enzymes and metabolised by gas-producing bacteria of the large intestine ; (ii) phytic acid, which markedly decreases the mineral and amino acid bioavailability (Febles, Arias, Hardisson, Rodríguez-Alvarez, & Sierra, 2002); and (iii) wheat germ agglutinin (WGA), responsible for the hyperplastic and hypertrophic growth of the small bowel and pancreas (Matucci et al, 2003). Nevertheless, baking and even milder thermal treatments almost completely eliminated the WGA activity from wheat germ (Matucci et al, 2003).…”

“…Nevertheless, baking and even milder thermal treatments almost completely eliminated the WGA activity from wheat germ (Matucci et al, 2003).…”

“…Oxidation may be prevented by: (i) inactivating enzymes under heat, microwave and extrusion cooking treatments; (ii) removing the oil fraction 0308-8146/$ -see front matter Ó 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.foodchem.2009.08.016 from wheat germ (Matucci et al, 2003); and (iii) using antioxidants (Paradiso et al, 2008). Despite their proved effectiveness, the above treatments are in some cases too expensive, not completely resolving, causing the decrease of the nutritional value of wheat germ, and, more in general, the use of synthetic antioxidants are looked at with suspicion since their potential risks for consumer health (Paradiso et al, 2008).…”

Antifungal activity of sourdough fermented wheat germ used as an ingredient for bread making

“…Nevertheless, the use of wheat germ is still challenging because of the poor stability and the presence of anti-nutritional factors such as: (i) raffinose which is not digested by pancreatic enzymes but metabolized by gas-producing bacteria of the large intestine, thus causing disorders such as flatulence (Rizzello et al, 2010a); (ii) phytic acid which markedly decreases the mineral bioavailability (Febles, Arias, Hardisson, Rodríguez-Alvarez, & Sierra, 2002); and (iii) wheat germ agglutinin (WGA) which is responsible for the hyperplastic and hypertrophic growth of the small bowel and pancreas (Matucci et al, 2003).…”

Wheat and other Triticum grains

“…It also has the highest moisture content among constituents of the mature grain (Song et al, 1998), but not all water-soluble vitamins are found in their highest concentrations here (Michael, 2009). Nevertheless, the use of wheat germ is still challenging because of its poor stability and the presence of anti-nutritional factors such as: (i) raffi nose which is not digested by pancreatic enzymes but metabolized by gas-producing bacteria of the large intestine, thus causing disorders such as fl atulence (Rizzello et al, 2010); (ii) phytic acid which markedly decreases the mineral bioavailability (Febles et al, 2002); and (iii) wheat germ agglutinin (WGA) which is responsible for the hyperplastic and hypertrophic growth of the small bowel and pancreas (Matucci et al, 2004).…”