Identification and Bioaccessibility of Maillard Reaction Products and Phenolic Compounds in Buckwheat Biscuits Formulated from Flour Fermented by Rhizopus oligosporus 2710

The identification and potential bioaccessibility of phenolic compounds using the highly sensitive micro-HPLC-QTRAP/MS/MS technique and Maillard reaction products (MRPs) in buckwheat biscuits formulated from flours, raw and roasted, fermented by Rhizopus oligosporus 2710 was addressed in this study after in vitro digestion. The content of the analyzed MRPs such as furosine, FAST index, and the level of melanoidins defined by the browning index was increased in the biscuits prepared from fermented flours as compared to the control biscuits prepared from non-fermented ones. After in vitro digestion higher content of furosine was observed in control and tested biscuits providing its high potential bioaccessibility. The fermented buckwheat flours used for baking affected the nutritional value of biscuits in comparison to the control biscuits in the context of the twice-increased FAST index. More than three times higher value of the browning index was noted in control and tested biscuits after digestion in vitro indicating the high bioaccessibility of melanoidins. Our results showed the presence of ten phenolic acids and eight flavonoids in the investigated biscuits. Among phenolic acids, vanillic, syringic, and protocatechuic were predominant while in the group of flavonoids, rutin, epicatechin, and vitexin were the main compounds in analyzed biscuits. Generally, the lower potential bioaccessibility of phenolic acids and higher potential bioaccessibility of flavonoids was found for biscuits obtained from buckwheat flours fermented by fungi compared to control biscuits obtained from non-fermented flours. Fermentation of buckwheat flour with the fungus R. oligosporus 2710 seems to be a good way to obtain high-quality biscuits; however, further research on their functional properties is needed.

Automated summary

In this study, the highly sensitive micro-HPLC-QTRAP/MS/MS technique was used to identify and evaluate the potential bioaccessibility of phenolic compounds and Maillard reaction products (MRPs) in buckwheat biscuits after in vitro digestion. The results showed that fermented buckwheat flours significantly increased the content of MRPs and had a higher bioaccessibility of furosine compared to non-fermented flours. The biscuits prepared from fermented flours also had a higher level of melanoidins, indicating a higher bioaccessibility. In addition, the study identified ten phenolic acids and eight flavonoids in the investigated biscuits, with vanillic, syringic, and protocatechuic acids being the predominant phenolic acids, and rutin, epicatechin, and vitexin being the main flavonoids. Overall, fermentation of buckwheat flour with Rhizopus oligosporus 2710 appears to be a promising method to produce high-quality biscuits with enhanced bioaccessibility of phenolic compounds and MRPs.