The functional implications of high-amylose wholegrain wheat flours: An in vitro digestion and fermentation approach combined with metabolomics

Wheat flour is one of the most prevalent foodstuffs for human consumption, and novel strategies are underway to enhance its nutritional properties. This work evaluated wholegrain flours from bread wheat lines with different amylose/amylopectin ratios through in vitro starch digestion and large intestine fermentation. High-amylose flours presented a higher resistant starch content and lower starch hydrolysis index. Moreover, UHPLC-HRMS metabolomics was carried out to determine the profile of the resulting in vitro fermentates. The multivariate analysis highlighted distinctive profiles between the flours derived from the different lines compared to the wild type. Peptides, glycerophospholipids, polyphenols, and terpenoids were identified as the main markers of the discrimination. The high-amylose flour fermentates showed the richest bioactive profile, containing stilbenes, carotenoids, and saponins. Present findings pave the way toward applying high-amylose flours to design novel functional foods.

Automated summary

This study evaluated the nutritional properties of wholegrain flours with different amylose/amylopectin ratios through in vitro starch digestion and large intestine fermentation. High-amylose flours showed higher resistant starch content and lower starch hydrolysis index. Metabolomics analysis revealed distinctive profiles between flours derived from different lines, with peptides, glycerophospholipids, polyphenols, and terpenoids identified as key markers. The high-amylose flour fermentates exhibited a rich bioactive profile, containing stilbenes, carotenoids, and saponins. These findings provide a basis for designing novel functional foods using high-amylose flours.