Samuela Palombieri

Traditional processing can modify the nutritional and volatile characteristics of cereal-based foods. This study evaluated Moroccan Bandek production, comprising soaking, steaming, solar drying, and roasting, using three durum wheat genotypes—conventional Svevo, high-amylose Svevo HA, and soft-kernel Faridur—and the high-β-glucan hull-less barley Chifaa. Raw wholemeal flours and corresponding Bandek products were analyzed for color, protein, β-glucan, resistant starch, iron, zinc, phenolic compounds, antioxidant capacity, and volatile organic compounds (VOCs). In vitro starch hydrolysis and predicted glycemic index (pGI) were determined in Bandek products. Compared with the corresponding flours, Bandek products were darker and showed higher resistant starch, extractable phenolic compounds, antioxidant capacity, iron, and zinc concentrations, whereas protein content was lower. However, marked differences emerged among the cereal matrices. Among the durum wheats, Svevo HA Bandek had the highest resistant starch content (6.82%) and a lower pGI than conventional Svevo, whereas Faridur showed the highest pGI (74.75%). In contrast, Chifaa barley Bandek retained 6.03% β-glucan and had the lowest pGI (53.78), clearly distinguishing it from the durum wheat products. Following standardized sample preparation, total semi-quantitative VOC abundance was higher in Bandek than in flour, with pyrazines providing the clearest distinction between the processed and raw matrices and additional variation attributable to genotype. These findings demonstrate that Bandek characteristics depend strongly on the cereal species and genotype, highlighting the distinct nutritional potential of high-β-glucan barley and high-amylose durum wheat.

Traditional processing can modify the nutritional and volatile characteristics of cere-al-based foods. This study evaluated Moroccan Bandek production, comprising soaking, steaming, solar drying, and roasting, in four cereal matrices: conventional durum wheat (Svevo), high-amylose durum wheat (Svevo HA), soft-kernel durum wheat (Faridur), and high-β-glucan hull-less barley (Chifaa). Raw wholemeal flours and corresponding Bandek products were analyzed for color, protein, β-glucan, resistant starch, iron, zinc, phenolic compounds, antioxidant capacity, and volatile organic compounds (VOCs). In vitro starch hydrolysis and predicted glycemic index (pGI) were determined in Bandek products. Compared with the corresponding flours, Bandek products were darker and showed higher resistant starch, extractable phenolic compounds, antioxidant capacity, iron, and zinc values, whereas protein content was lower. Chifaa Bandek retained 6.03% β-glucan and had the lowest pGI (53.78), while Svevo HA contained the most resistant starch (6.82%). Following standardized sample preparation, total semi-quantitative VOC abundance was higher in Bandek than in flour, with pyrazines providing the clearest distinction between the matrices. Multivariate analyses separated Bandek products from raw flours and revealed additional genotype-dependent variation. These findings in-dicate that the nutritional and volatile characteristics of Bandek depend on the interaction between the composition of the starting cereal matrix and the traditional processing, supporting further evaluation of high-β-glucan barley and high-amylose durum wheat for traditional cereal foods.

Advancements in plant genome sequencing and assembly have enabled the production of increasingly accurate and contiguous genome sequences. Here, we present the chromosome‐level assembly of the durum wheat ( Triticum turgidum L. ssp. durum , cv. Svevo) reference genome produced using accurate long‐reads, optical mapping and Hi‐C. The new assembly (Svevo Rel.2.0) comprises 263 hybrid scaffolds with an N50 value of 112.3 Mb, arranged into 14 contiguous pseudomolecules spanning 10.4 Gb. The Svevo Rel.2.0 genome assembly was annotated using extensive short‐ and long‐read RNA sequencing data obtained from 60 tissue/treatment combinations. The resulting annotation comprises 68 154 high‐confidence protein‐coding genes, which have been integrated into a comprehensive transcriptome atlas accessible through an eFP browser. Annotation was manually curated for storage protein gene families and for Leucine‐Rich Repeat‐Containing Receptor genes yielding 3763 LRR‐CR loci. The genome assembly's accuracy and completeness were demonstrated by the correct reconstruction of the physical map of Tg1‐B ( Tenacious glumes 1 ), a locus controlling the free threshing trait located on chromosome 2B that was not assembled in the previous genome release (Svevo Rel.1.0). A wealth of 6621 QTLs/MTAs from the literature were mapped onto Svevo Rel.2.0 to identify QTL hotspots and trait‐specific candidate genes. The ancestry of the durum genome to representative wild emmer populations from North‐Eastern and Southern‐Levant Fertile Crescent assessed by tracing haplotype transmission patterns revealed a clear mosaic pattern. This new durum reference genome, enhanced with advanced annotation and an expression atlas linked to QTLome data, is the most comprehensive tool available for durum wheat genomics.

This study investigated the reformulation of traditional Anatolian flatbread (bazlama), a staple food of the Mediterranean diet, into a functional product with enhanced nutritional quality. High-amylose refined (white) flour obtained from high-amylose Svevo (Svevo-HA) wheat and resistant starch produced via repeated autoclaving–cooling cycles were incorporated to increase resistant starch content and antioxidant capacity, reduce the predicted glycemic response, and evaluate the resulting changes in textural attributes. Six bazlama formulations were produced using white flours of normal Svevo, Svevo-HA, and recombined Svevo-HA flour containing resistant starch and gluten, with and without vital gluten supplementation. Color, texture profile, phenolic content, antioxidant capacity (DPPH, ABTS, FRAP), resistant starch content, and in vitro glycemic index (GI) were evaluated. Bazlama samples enriched with resistant starch exhibited significantly higher total antioxidant activity (113.7–174.7 mg Trolox equivalent/100 g dw) and resistant starch (9.1–10.3%) levels, along with reduced GI values (53.8–54 < 55), classifying them as low-GI foods. The results demonstrate that incorporating high-amylose wheat–derived resistant starch can successfully convert bazlama into a functional flatbread with improved health-promoting properties.

Pigmented wheat varieties represent a promising source of bioactive compounds, particularly anthocyanins, with potential applications in the development of functional cereal-based foods. This study investigated the combined effect of pigmented wheat genetics and innovative milling technologies on the nutritional and technological properties of wheat-derived products. Two pigmented bread wheat genotypes, the blue-grained cultivar Purendo and the purple-grained line Vanilnoir, were compared with the non-pigmented cultivar Peralba. Grains were processed using conventional milling or through micronization followed by air-classification to obtain enriched fractions (F250 and G250). The resulting flours and fractions were evaluated for compositional traits, rheological properties, antioxidant activity, and pasta-making performance. Air-classification significantly increased ash, protein, and lipid contents while reducing total starch, confirming the enrichment of outer kernel components. Bran-enriched fractions exhibited enhanced antioxidant capacity, with the highest FRAP and TEAC values observed in pigmented genotypes. Pasta produced from enriched fractions showed improved nutritional profiles and, in most cases, a reduced predicted glycemic index compared with conventional flour-based pasta. Technological responses were genotype-dependent: while bran enrichment negatively affected dough rheology, the purple genotype maintained more balanced technological and sensory properties in pasta compared with the blue genotype. These results demonstrate that integrating pigmented wheat genetics with targeted milling strategies can support the development of functional cereal-based foods with enhanced antioxidant potential and improved nutritional quality.