Folic acid retention evaluation in preparations with wheat flour and corn submitted to different cooking methods by HPLC/DAD

PLoS One. 2020 Apr 8;15(4):e0230583. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0230583. eCollection 2020.

Abstract

Folic acid content was evaluated in food preparations containing wheat and corn flour submitted to baking, deep-frying, and steaming. Commercially fortified flours showed the absence of folic acid. Flours with laboratory folic acid fortification showed 487 and 474 μg of folic acid in 100 g of wheat and corn flours, respectively. In the corn flour preparations, the cake had the highest retention (99%) when compared to couscous (97%). Besides, the cake showed higher retention when compared to the wheat flour preparations due to the interactions of the folic acid with the hydrophobic amino acids of the Zein, a protein found in corn. In wheat flour preparations, vitamin retention was 87%, 80% and 57% in bread, cake, and White sauce respectively. These findings relate to the change of the physicochemical properties of food components that occurs during mixing and cooking of the ingredients.

MeSH terms

  • Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid
  • Cooking / methods*
  • Flour / analysis*
  • Folic Acid / analysis*
  • Triticum / chemistry*
  • Zea mays / chemistry*

Substances

  • Folic Acid

Grants and funding

The author(s) received no specific funding for this work.