2017 Participants
Wasim Iqbal
Whole grain foods are well known for their beneficial health effects. Over the past few years organisations have responded by producing products using the term “whole grain” or “wholemeal”. However, with no clear definition of WG, this has left room for WG fraud potentially misleading consumers into thinking they are eating 100% WG products when it may in fact contain much less. This study aims to authenticate WG products by identifying the different anatomical features of the grain (germ, endosperm and bran) based on the presence of complex plant polysaccharides which are natural markers of different parts of the grain. Various wheat and barley whole grain samples were subjected to moisture removal and carbohydrate extraction. The extracted polysaccharides were then printed and combined with antibodies using microarray technology. It was found that the distribution of polysaccharides differed between the different layers of the grain. This information will help provide industry with a more accurate means of assessing whole grain products.
Funding source: Newcastle University
Supervisors: Professor William Willatts and Professor Chris Seal