Fructans in durum wheat: an opportunity for functional foods

Cereal grains harvested at the milky stage produce raw materials with interesting functional characteristics, as they represent a profitable and suitable source of fructo-oligosaccharides (FOS). These low molecular weight polymers of fructose are non-digestible compounds classified as “prebiotics” for their properties in maintaining gut health. The production of basic foods (such as dried and fresh pasta, bread and cookies) enriched with immature durum wheat grain (IWG) meal was also investigated. The products were characterized by chemical and nutritional parameters (FOS levels, dietary fibre and resistant starch content, in vitro starch digestibility). In comparison with the reference pasta products (100% semolina), the addition of 30% IWG led to a 20% increase in FOS content, without producing relevant changes in the cooking quality. Nevertheless, cooking of dried pasta induced a release of FOS into the cooking water, a phenomenon which was very limited in fresh pasta samples as a consequence of its shorter cooking time. As regards the bakery-products enriched with IGW, our results underlined the FOS susceptibility to yeast hydrolytic activity, thus suggesting that IWG meal may be used best in chemically-leavened products, as cookies.