Metabolomics: an effective tool for authentication of spelt flour?

Result code in IS VaVaI

<a href="https://www.isvavai.cz/riv?ss=detail&h=RIV%2F60461373%3A22330%2F22%3A43925252" target="_blank" >RIV/60461373:22330/22:43925252 - isvavai.cz</a>

Result on the web

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DOI - Digital Object Identifier

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Result language

angličtina

Original language name

Metabolomics: an effective tool for authentication of spelt flour?

Original language description

The food authenticity, the confirmation of declaration on the packaging, or the detection of adulteration, is a challenging process for modern analytical chemistry. One of the commodities that can be a target for fraudulent practices is spelt wheat (Triticum spelta), especially in the form of spelt flour. The cultivation of spelt wheat is more demanding, compared to the well-known common wheat. Due to the more problematic cultivation, mainly lower yields, spelt wheat is a more expensive commodity than other common wheat varieties of the genus Triticum (e.g. Triticum aestivum L.). This fact may tempt fraudulent producers to partially replace spelt wheat with cheaper wheat variety in milling products, i.e. flour.There are several analytical approaches to detect these dishonest practices and thus control the authenticity of spelt flour. However, the situation is rather complicated because of the significant genetic relatedness of both types of wheat (Triticum spelta and Triticum aestivum L.), and therefore methods based on the analysis of genetic information are less effective. One of the promising possibilities is the use of a metabolomic approach employing liquid chromatography coupled to high-resolution mass spectrometry as a very effective tool and subsequent processing of the obtained data using advanced chemometric analyses.In the initial phase of this pilot study, 10 flour samples were analyzed, including 6 authentic spelt flour samples and 4 authentic wheat flour samples. Two approaches were chosen for sample extraction, the first aimed at the isolation of rather non-polar substances using a mixture of dichloromethane : methanol (50 : 50, v / v), and the second aimed at the extraction of polar substances with a mixture of methanol : water (80 : 20, v / v). The separation was carried out by liquid chromatography on a reversed-phase system coupled to high-resolution mass spectrometry. The data were acquired in positive and negative ionization modes and processed by principal component analysis and partial least square discriminant analysis. Chemometric data processing showed very promising results in this initial phase, when the samples were separated and classified into two different groups and at the same time, the characteristic compounds for both types of wheat were identified. These markers will be further verified on a larger set of samples and the smallest possible detectable addition of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) to spelt flour will be determined.

Czech name

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Czech description

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Type

O - Miscellaneous

CEP classification

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OECD FORD branch

10700 - Other natural sciences

Project

<a href="/en/project/LM2018100" target="_blank" >LM2018100: Infrastructure for Promoting Metrology in Food and Nutrition in the Czech Republic</a><br>

Continuities

P - Projekt vyzkumu a vyvoje financovany z verejnych zdroju (s odkazem do CEP)<br>S - Specificky vyzkum na vysokych skolach

Publication year

2022

Confidentiality

S - Úplné a pravdivé údaje o projektu nepodléhají ochraně podle zvláštních právních předpisů