Pasta-products enriched with immature wheat grain: technological and nutritional properties

The basic composition and functional properties of mature grains of cereals have been extensively studied. The search for new potential and economic opportunities for novel uses for cereals grains has focused research on mmature grains.Cereal grains harvested at early stages of kernel development appear to be an interesting row material for functional foods, containing fructooligosaccharides (FOS), well-known prebiotic compounds, in quantities 2-3 times higher than mature grains. Pasta samples were obtained from semolina mixed with increasing amount of immature wheat grain (IGW) meal of two different cultivars. The integration with IGW meal shows no relevant chenges in cooking quality, but promotes interesting differences in carbohydrate digestibility. In particular, in vitro starch digestion of cooked pasta decreases with increasing IGW meal content, probably because of a protective effect exerted by dietary fiber and a different starch structure in IWG enriched pasta.