Metabolomic analysis of the grain pearling fractions of six bread wheat varieties

Anting Zhu; Qin Zhou; Shiqi Hu; Fan Wang; Zhitao Tian; Xin Hu; Hongbo Liu; Dong Jiang; Wei Chen

doi:10.1016/j.foodchem.2021.130881

Metabolomic analysis of the grain pearling fractions of six bread wheat varieties

Food Chem. 2022 Feb 1:369:130881. doi: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2021.130881. Epub 2021 Aug 17.

Authors

Anting Zhu¹, Qin Zhou², Shiqi Hu², Fan Wang², Zhitao Tian¹, Xin Hu¹, Hongbo Liu³, Dong Jiang⁴, Wei Chen⁵

Affiliations

¹ National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetic Improvement and National Center of Plant Gene Research (Wuhan), Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China; College of Plant Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China.
² National Engineering and Technology Center for Information Agriculture/Key Laboratory of Crop Physiology and Ecology in Southern China, Ministry of Agriculture, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, China.
³ National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetic Improvement and National Center of Plant Gene Research (Wuhan), Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China.
⁴ National Engineering and Technology Center for Information Agriculture/Key Laboratory of Crop Physiology and Ecology in Southern China, Ministry of Agriculture, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, China. Electronic address: [email protected].
⁵ National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetic Improvement and National Center of Plant Gene Research (Wuhan), Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China; College of Plant Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China. Electronic address: [email protected].

PMID: 34455328
DOI: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2021.130881

Abstract

Bread wheat is a staple food crop that is consumed worldwide. In this study, using widely targeted LC-MS/MS, we conducted a high-throughput metabolomic analysis and determined the contents and spatial distribution of metabolites in pearled fractions of the dried kernels of six representative bread wheat varieties cultivated in China. Our aim was to explore the cultivars and pearling fractions with a view toward developing functional food products. We accordingly identified notable differences in the nutrient and bioactive metabolomes, and established that the pearling fractions of each cultivar had distinct metabolic profiles. Flavonoids varied the most amongst the cultivars and were found in higher concentration in the outer layers of the grain, but only at low concentrations in the kernel. Data from this study add further evidence of benefits of whole grain wheat consumption but, specifically, medium-gluten and pigmented wheat offer other nutrient and bioactive benefits whole grain products.

Keywords: Bread wheat; Metabolite; Spatial fraction; Wholegrain consumption.

MeSH terms

Bread* / analysis
Chromatography, Liquid
Edible Grain
Tandem Mass Spectrometry
Triticum*