The Potential of Wheat Biofortified with Sulfur and Nitrogen

Abstract

Abstract The objective of this work was to verify if the nutrients sulfur and nitrogen, once applied to wheat through the process of agronomic biofortification, contribute to the formation of proteins and sulfur amino acids, increasing, consequently, the strength of semolina wheat flour and its ability to form gluten. The chemical, colorimetric, rheological, and enzymatic analyses of biofortified and non-biofortified semolina wheat flour were carried out and submitted to analysis of variance. Regarding the color, there was no difference among the samples, which present a light color. The average protein value was appropriate in both flours, with an average content of 11.32g 100g-1. The wet gluten, the dry gluten, and the content of sulfur amino acids also did not present significant differences among the samples. According to the alveography analysis, the samples presented differences in the analyzed parameters. Among the quality characteristics measured through the farinography, the falling number and the valorimeter value were lower in the biofortified sample, indicating that it weakens quicker throughout the mixture process. The enzymatic activity of the flours were different between them. The semolina wheat flours studied are classified as improver what. With the obtained results, it will be necessary the realization of new experiments with appropriate dosages in order to verify if the biofortification really alters the amount of proteins, as well as sulfur amino acids and other parameters.

Keywords

• sulfur amino acids
• agronomic biofortification
• semolina wheat flour
• gluten
• protein