Polyphenols in Raw and Cooked Cereals/Pseudocereals/Legume Pasta and Couscous.

Marina Carcea,Valentina Narducci,Vittoria Giannini,Valeria Turfani

doi:10.3390/foods6090080

Abstract

Pasta and couscous are popular foods manufactured (in their traditional form) from durum wheat semolina. In recent years, the consumers’ quest for novel, functional, gluten-free, wholegrain foods has prompted the industry to manufacture new pasta and couscous products in which durum wheat has been partially or totally replaced by other vegetable flours. Besides dietary fibre, these raw materials might be an interesting source of phytochemicals. In this work, 16 commercial samples of pasta and four samples of couscous representative of the new products and made of refined and wholegrain flours of different species of cereals, pseudocereals and legumes were analysed for free, hydrolysable bound and total polyphenol content by means of the Folin-Ciocalteu procedure. Analyses were repeated on cooked samples to assess the quantity of polyphenols ingested by the consumers. The raw legume and pseudocereal products had a total polyphenol content higher than most cereal products (up to 1743.4 mg of Gallic Acid Equivalent (GAE) per 100 g dry weight). Wholegrain products had higher contents than refined products. The free fraction underwent up to 46% loss with cooking, probably because of solubility in water. The water absorption of pasta and couscous during cooking was in a ratio of 2:3, resulting in higher dilution of polyphenols in the cooked couscous.

Highlights

Pasta and couscous are two traditional foods in the Mediterranean area nowadays consumed worldwide
The lipids content in all pasta samples ranged from 1.2 for pasta made with durum wheat semolina to 9.4% f.w. for pasta made with wholegrain oats, whereas the carbohydrates ranged from 42% f.w. for the black lentil pasta to 77% f.w. for maize pasta
The salt content in the cereals-with-gluten pasta ranged from 0.0027–0.005% f.w., it was higher in the gluten-free cereals and pseudocereals samples (0.047–0.05% f.w.) and in the legumes samples (0.02–0.07% f.w.)

Summary

Introduction

Pasta and couscous are two traditional foods in the Mediterranean area nowadays consumed worldwide. They are manufactured using different technologies, in the traditional version they share the same raw material, which is refined durum wheat semolina [1,2]. Phenolic compounds have attracted attention as molecules able to improve the wellbeing and longevity of the human population [10]. Their content, bioavailability and efficacy still continue to be largely investigated and are considered a topic of interest in food science and nutrition [11]

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Discussion

Conclusion