Wheat is a vital and preferred energy source in many parts of the world. Its unique processing quality helps prepare many products such as bread, biscuit, pasta, and noodles. In the world of rapid economic growth, food security, in terms of nutritional profile, began to receive more significant interest. The development of biofortified colored wheat (black, purple, and blue) adds nutritional and functional health benefits to the energy-rich wheat. Colored wheat exists in three forms, purple, blue, and black, depending upon the types and position of the anthocyanins in wheat layers, regulated by the bHLH-MYC transcription factor. Colored wheat lines with high anthocyanin, iron, and zinc contents showed antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activity and possessed desirable product-making and commercial utilization features. The anthocyanin in colored wheat also has a broad spectrum of health implications, such as protection against metabolic syndromes like obesity, diabetes, hypertension, and dyslipidemia. The idea of developing anthocyanin-biofortified wheat shapes human beings' lifestyles as it is a staple food crop in many parts of the world. This review is a compilation of the currently available information on colored wheat in the critical aspects, including biochemistry, food processing, nutrition, genetics, breeding, and its effect on human health. Market generation and consumer awareness creation are vital challenges for its exploitation as a function food on a large scale.

https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnut.2022.878221/pdf

Rising Demand for Healthy Foods-Anthocyanin Biofortified Colored Wheat Is a New Research Trend

• Flatbreads can be classified into single layered and double layered. • Increased demand towards flatbreads is driven by their affordability, convenience, versatility, and authenticity. • Health and nutrition claims are expected to fuel the market growth. • New ingredients are used to create flatbreads with new flavors. Flatbreads are among the oldest foods throughout the world. They are affordable, familiar, and authentic foods with a long history in several countries. Their high versatility puts forward their use as a canvas of innovation to create new flavors. Flatbreads can be also considered vehicles for adding health-beneficial ingredients to improve the nutritional profile and sensorial properties, and add peculiar flavors. These products suit modern lifestyle by offering convenient and easy to prepare snacks or meals. The use of wholegrains and multigrains will keep trending upward to attract health-conscious consumers. Future opportunities for expansion rely on the use of natural, sustainable, and clean label ingredients, and addressing niche markets such as vegan/ vegetarians and consumers with intolerances and allergies. In this review, flatbreads formulations, types, and nutritional composition are reviewed. An in-depth market search was conducted to identify the main trends in new products development. . 

Flatbread - a canvas for innovation: a review

Effect of processing on the phytochemicals and quality attributes of vermicelli developed from colored wheat

Malnutrition, unhealthy diets, and lifestyle changes are the major risk factors for overweight and obesity-linked chronic diseases in humans adversely impact achieving sustainable development goals. Colored grains are a source of anthocyanins, a group of flavonoids, that contribute positively to human health. This review focuses on genetic variation harnessed through breeding and biotechnology tools for developing anthocyanin-rich grain crops. Agronomic practices, genotype × environment interactions, different stresses, seed development and seed maturity are factors that impact the content and composition of anthocyanins. Significant progress has been made in characterizing genes associated with anthocyanin biosynthesis in cereal and other crops. Breeding has led to the development and release of grain anthocyanin-rich crop cultivars in Europe, America and in some countries in Asia. Notably, genetic engineering utilizing specific transcription factors and gene editing has led to the development of anthocyanin-rich genetic variants without any significant yield penalty. A variety of food products derived from colored grains or flours are now available in grocery stores and supermarkets worldwide. The public perception about anthocyanin-rich food is positive, but availability, affordability, and willingness to pay a higher price than before limit consumption. Together with other seed nutrition traits in breeding programs the inclusion of anthocyanins can ensure the development of cultivars that meet nutrition needs of humans, especially in the developing world.

/pdf/developing-germplasm-and-promoting-consumption-of-mo9ugwh8.pdf

Developing Germplasm and Promoting Consumption of Anthocyanin-Rich Grains for Health Benefits

Rice (Oryza sativa L.) is one of the most globally important crops, nutritionally and economically. Therefore, analyzing the genetic basis of its nutritional quality is a paramount prerequisite for cultivating new varieties with increased nutritional health. To systematically compare the nutritional quality differences between landraces and cultivated rice, and to mine key genes that determine the specific nutritional traits of landraces, a seed metabolome database of 985 nutritional metabolites covering amino acids, flavonoids, anthocyanins, and vitamins by a widely targeted metabolomic approach with 114 rice varieties (35 landraces and 79 cultivars) was established. To further reveal the molecular mechanism of the metabolic differences in landrace and cultivated rice seeds, four cultivars and six landrace seeds were selected for transcriptome and metabolome analysis during germination, respectively. The integrated analysis compared the metabolic profiles and transcriptomes of different types of rice, identifying 358 differentially accumulated metabolites (DAMs) and 1982 differentially expressed genes (DEGs), establishing a metabolite–gene correlation network. A PCA revealed anthocyanins, flavonoids, and lipids as the central differential nutritional metabolites between landraces and cultivated rice. The metabolite–gene correlation network was used to screen out 20 candidate genes postulated to be involved in the structural modification of anthocyanins. Five glycosyltransferases were verified to catalyze the glycosylation of anthocyanins by in vitro enzyme activity experiments. At the same time, the different mechanisms of the anthocyanin synthesis pathway and structural diversity in landrace and cultivated rice were systematically analyzed, providing new insights for the improvement and utilization of the nutritional quality of rice landrace varieties.

/pdf/integrated-metabolomics-and-transcriptomics-analyses-reveal-1hsy3809.pdf

Integrated Metabolomics and Transcriptomics Analyses Reveal the Metabolic Differences and Molecular Basis of Nutritional Quality in Landraces and Cultivated Rice

Biofortified colored wheat are known for their anthocyanin content. In the present study, ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography was used for the quantification of amino acids in black, purple, blue and white colored wheat flour and chapatti samples. Black and blue wheat flour and chapatti samples had higher total amino acid content, and nutrition index in comparison other flour and chapatti samples, while EAA content were similar among all flour and chapatti samples. In Asian countries, wheat is mainly consumed as chapattis and after chapatti cooking, average percent reduction in amino acid content in black, blue, purple and white wheat were 11.41, 12.4, 19.0, and 23.8%, respectively. White chapatti samples exhibited >20% losses in the contents of 14, while black chapatti showed >20% losses in case of only one amino acid. The higher retention of amino acids in colored wheat might be due to the masking and protective effects of anthocyanins on proteins and amino acids from heating and oxidative damages. Hence, incorporation of colored wheat in diet can pose several nutritional and health advantages to the consumers.

Jagadeesh Banda

Papers

Anthocyanin biofortified black, blue and purple wheat exhibited lower amino acid cooking losses than white wheat