Acta Chimica Slovaca (ACS) publishes papers on fundamental and applied aspects of chemistry, biochemistry, chemical technology, chemical engineering and process control, biotechnology and food technology. Welcome are also topics which include chemical aspects of materials, physical chemistry and chemical physics, analytical chemistry, macromolecular chemistry and biomedical engineering.

Chemical composition and nutritional quality of wheat grain

Zuzana Šramková *, Edita Gregová a, Ernest Šturdík

Institute of Biochemistry, Nutrition and Health Protection, Slovak University of Technology Radlinského 9, 812 37 Bratislava, Slovak Republic
a Research Institute of Plant Production, Slovak Centre of Agricultural Research, Bratislavská 122, 921 68 Piešťany, Slovak Republic

E-mail: * zuzana.sramkova@stuba.sk

Abstract: Deficiencies of micronutrients such as iron, zinc, and vitamin A (“hidden hunger”) afflict over three billion people. Currently there is an increasing preference among consumers for foods that contain not only traditional nutrients but also provide other compounds that are beneficial to health and well-being. Food systems that feed the world must be changed in ways that will insure that balanced nutrient supplies are available continuously to all people in adequate, affordable amounts. This paper reviews about the most important wheat grain components and their nutritional value. The opportunities of plant breeding and other technologies to improve the nutritional quality of wheat are also discussed.

Keywords: fibre, micronutrients, proteins, starch, wheat grain

Full paper in Portable Document Format: acs_0041.pdf

Acta Chimica Slovaca, Vol. 2, No. 1, 2009, pp. 115—138