Cereal Grains:Their Impacts on Health and Food Safety

Cereal grains can contribute to maintain health and prevent chronic diseases by supplying biologically active components. The exact mechanism of action of these components is not completely understood,but extensive evidence suggests the antioxidants that are present in the grains are the likely source of benefits. These activities or properties might protect against coronary heart disease and diabetes. The relationships of complex carbohydrates,whole grain products and the prevention of diseases,including type2 diabetes mellitus and coronary heart disease continue to challenge the scientific community. Though cereal grains contribute to a healthy diet there are some people that can not tolerate the proteins present in the grain. This can lead to food allergies and when severe can be diagnosed as celiac disease.

Breeding Major Cereal Grains through the Lens o~ ~iutrition Sensitivity

Cereal grains are the common food staples that collectively provide over 50% of dietary calories and proteins for the world＇s population. Although the Green Revolution has greatly increased the yield of commercial cereal crops, they often lack nutrients essential for human health in the edible tissues. In developing nutrition-sensitive agriculture, the nutritional quality of cereal grains has been a major target for improvement using breeding and biotechnology approaches. This review examines recent progress on biofortification of micronutrients （provitamin A and folates） and an essential amino acid （lysine） in three major cereal grains, wheat, rice, and maize, through plant breeding. In addition, how natural variations, induced mutations, and the advanced genome-editing technologies can be applied to improving the nutrient content and stability in these cereal grains are discussed. High-yield cereal crops pyramided with improved （micro）nutrient contents hold great promise to meet the increasing demand of nutritionally limited popula- tions and to contribute to achieving sustainable nutrition security.

Using vibrational infrared biomolecular spectroscopy to detect heat-induced changes of molecular structure in relation to nutrient availability of prairie whole oat grains on a molecular basis

Background： To our knowledge, there is little study on the interaction between nutrient availability and molecular structure changes induced by different processing methods in dairy cattle. The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of heat processing methods on interaction between nutrient availability and molecular structure in terms of functional groups that are related to protein and starch inherent structure of oat grains with two continued years and three replication of each year.Method： The oat grains were kept as raw（control） or heated in an air-draft oven（dry roasting： DO） at 120 °C for 60 min and under microwave irradiation（MIO） for 6 min. The molecular structure features were revealed by vibrational infrared molecular spectroscopy.Results： The results showed that rumen degradability of dry matter, protein and starch was significantly lower（P 〈0.05） for MIO compared to control and DO treatments. A higher protein α-helix to β-sheet and a lower amide I to starch area ratio were observed for MIO compared to DO and/or raw treatment. A negative correlation（-0.99, P 〈 0.01）was observed between α-helix or amide I to starch area ratio and dry matter. A positive correlation（0.99, P 〈 0.01） was found between protein β-sheet and crude protein.Conclusion： The results reveal that oat grains are more sensitive to microwave irradiation than dry heating in terms of protein and starch molecular profile and nutrient availability in ruminants.

Effect of steam-flaking on chemical compositions,starch gelatinization,in vitro fermentability,and energetic values of maize,wheat and rice

Intact and steam-flaked grains of maize,wheat and rice（with whole hulls） were analyzed for chemical composition,starch gelatinization degree（SGD） and in vitro fermentation characteristics to investigate the influence of cereal type and steam-flaking（SF） processing on their nutritive values.The treatments were arranged in a 3×2 factorial design.Obvious differences（P〈0.001） in chemical composition and energetic values were observed among the different cereal types.SGD and gas production（GP） rate was significantly increased（P〈0.001） by SF processing.SF processing also increased（P〈0.01） the proportion of propionic acid and decreased the acetic：propionic acid ratio in vitro.Steam-flaking also increased organic matter digestibility and the energetic value of the cereal grains,especially rice.Based on these results,rice probably is more amendable to SF processing than maize and wheat.In conclusion,it is feasible to partially substitute maize grain with wheat or rice in ruminant diets,and steam-flaking can significantly improve the nutritional value of wheat and rice grains.

From Proteomics to Structural Studies of Cytosolic/MitochondriaI-Type Thioredoxin Systems in Barley Seeds

Thioredoxins （Trx） are ubiquitous proteins that participate in thiol disulfide reactions via two active site cysteine residues, allowing Trx to reduce disulfide bonds in target proteins. Recent progress in proteome analysis has resulted in identification of a wide range of potential target proteins for Trx, indicating that Trx plays a key role in several aspects of cell metabolism. In contrast to other organisms, plants contain multiple forms of Trx that are classified based on their primary structures and sub-cellular localization. The reduction of cytosolic and mitochondrial types of Trx is dependent on NADPH and catalyzed by NADPH-dependent thioredoxin reductase （NTR）. In barley, two isoforms each of Trx and NTR have been identified and investigated using proteomics, gene expression, and structural studies. This review outlines the diverse roles suggested for cytosolic/mitochondrial-type Trx systems in cereal seeds and summarizes the current knowledge of the barley system including recent data on function, regulation, interactions, and structure. Directions for future research are discussed.

Sensing grain and seed moisture and density from dielectric properties

The importance of moisture measurement in grain and seed is discussed,and a brief history of the development of moisture sensing instruments,based on sensing of dielectric properties of these materials,is presented.Data are presented graphically on the permittivities or dielectric properties of grain and seed showing their variation with frequency,moisture content,temperature,and bulk density,and references are cited for further information.More recent developments on microwave measurements for moisture content and bulk density sensing are briefly described,and numerous studies are cited providing sources of information on these newer techniques.