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Tracking Arabinoxylans Through the Preparation of Pancakes

^†Corresponding author. Phone: +1.509.335.4062. E-mail: morrisc@wsu.edu
¹USDA-ARS Western Wheat Quality Laboratory, E-202 Food Quality Bldg., Washington State University, P.O. Box 646394, Pullman, WA 99164-6394. Names are necessary to report factually on available data; however, the USDA neither guarantees nor warrants the standard of the product, and the use of the name by the USDA implies no approval of the product to the exclusion of others that may also be suitable. ²Department of Crop and Soil Sciences, Washington State University, Pullman, WA 99164-6376; affiliated with the USDA-ARS Western Wheat Quality Laboratory. ³USDA-ARS Beltsville Human Nutrition Research Center, Beltsville, MD 20705.

Arabinoxylans (AX) are well known to have a wide-ranging influence on wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) end-use quality and are associated with health benefits. There is little information on the effects of processing on AX properties in high-water-content batter-based products and on the associations between AX properties and end-use quality in such products. The objective of this study was to track total and water-extractable AX (TAX and WEAX, respectively) contents and determine changes in AX characteristics throughout the baking process of pancakes, a batter-based wheat product. The TAX and WEAX contents along with the arabinose-to-xylose (A/X) ratio were quantified in refined flour and wholemeal as well as batter and pancakes from two soft and three hard wheat varieties. ANOVA F values indicated that the variation in TAX content was influenced most by sample type differences (flour versus batter versus pancakes), whereas varietal differences were responsible for the greatest differences in WEAX. In separate analyses on refined and wholemeal flours, the highest F values were for variety WEAX, largely attributed to the higher WEAX content of the three hard varieties. WEAX levels generally increased slightly from flour to batter to pancakes in refined flour. The WEAX content in flour, batter, and pancakes of both refined flour and wholemeal was highly correlated with pancake volume. These observations suggest moderate changes in wheat AX characteristics during processing and a positive association of WEAX levels with end-product volume in a batter-based product.