reported as a valuable resource for obtaining polyphenols, dietary fiber, protein, vitamins B and E, assorted trace elements, and various minerals [253–255]. The most abundant polyphenol in the rye is ferulic acid; furthermore, the presence of vanillic, p-coumaric, caffeic, sinapic, and ferulic acids has also been determined [256–258]. The protein content of rye is 9.0 to 15.4 g/100 g on a dry basis, while the ash amount is about 1.61 to 2.24 g/100 g on a dry basis [259, 260]. Rye’s highest sugar component is sucrose (0.7 g/100 g dry matter), followed respectively by glucose, fructose, raffinose, and stachyose (<0.1 g/100 g dry matter) [259, 261]. The starch contents of rye have been measured to be 60.3 g/100 g dry matter [262]. Furthermore, rye contains considerably more pentosans and hemicellulose compared to other grains. Possessing water solubility, pentosans lead to the formation of a viscous solution during dough formation [263–267].
High consumption of rye has a positive effect on digestion while simultaneously reducing risks of coronary heart disease, hypercholesterolemia, non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus, and obesity. Furthermore, it has been demonstrated in multiple studies that consuming rye can generate a preventive effect against some hormonally driven cancers like breast and colon cancer [260, 268–272].
3.3 Functional Foods Produced from Cereal Grains
3.3.1 Baked Products and Breakfast Cereals
As a logical outcome of the growing demands for healthy food items, the baked-goods industry has been commissioning R&D studies of functional foods and ingredients. In light of the advantageous effects that they have for human health, as mentioned above, cereals are used for designing new functional foods. Cereals are used as important alternatives when producing new food items such as breads, flat breads (pita breads), pan breads, breakfast cereals, cookies, cakes, pasta, and extruded snacks. Cereals can be used as prebiotics in the design of new prebiotic foods [8, 37]. The water-soluble fibers in cereals, including beta-glucans, pentosans, oligosaccharides, and resistant starches, act as a prebiotic medium. Starch or starch derivatives in cereals may be utilized as materials for the encapsulation of probiotics. These provide improvement of the stability of probiotics during processing, storage, and distribution and protection of probiotics from adverse conditions of the human gastrointestinal tract [37, 248, 273].
3.3.2 Multigrain Functional Beverages
Multigrain beverages are very beneficial products as functional drinks designed with the combination of bioactive substances of various cereals within liquid media. These healthy beverages contain high soluble fiber and polyphenols. The soluble fiber in the beverages slows down the digestion and absorption of the beverage and lowers their glycemic index. Polyphenols are able to act as scavengers of the free radicals that occur within the human body due to their high antioxidant capacity. Multigrain beverages can be produced with milk or water. Their processing can include steps of soaking, malting, sprouting, grinding, cooking, and/or filtering. Additives can also be included in the formulation for improving the overall quality of these drinks. To obtain a fermented beverage or prebiotic, a fermentation stage is required. Enzyme treatment can be used for non-fermented beverages. Kunan-Zaki made from maize and millet, Champuz produced by fermentation of corn and rice, and Kali obtained from fermented rice are examples of multigrain functional beverages [62]. Apart from these, some of the known multigrain beverages are listed below in Table 3.1 with their countries of origin.
Table 3.1 Some cereal-based beverages [62, 274–278].
| Beverage name | Origin | Cereals used in the preparation of the beverage |
| Ambil | India | Ragi flour and cooked rice |
| Boza | Turkey | Maize, millet, wheat, and barley |
| Gowé | Benin | Sorghum or maize or millet |
| Mahewu | South Africa | Maize meal, wheat flour |
| Borde | Ethiopia | Sorghum, maize, finger millet, wheat, and barley |
| Mahewu | South Africa | Maize meal and wheat flour |
| Bushera | Uganda | Millet or sorghum |
| Togwa | Eastern Africa | Maize flour, finger millet |
| Obiolor | Nigeria | Sorghum, millet |
| Cachiri | Brazil | Maize |
| Pozol | Mexico | Maize |
| Acupe | Venezuela | Maize |
| Fubá | Brazil | Maize |
| Agua-agria | Mexico | Maize |
| Napú | Peru | Maize |
3.4 Conclusion
Today, due to the increase in obesity and chronic diseases, the world has witnessed a marked growth in the consumption of functional foods, and different healthy food formulations need to be developed. Particularly, cereal products containing soluble fibers and antioxidants stand out with their use as ingredients in the creation of new functional food formulations. The cereals presented in this chapter are used for preparing food items that share similarities with traditional food items and are included in normal human diets, as well as having positive effects on health. Changing dietary habits by encouraging the increased consumption of functional foods can reduce healthcare expenditures. Today, it is not easy to develop different cereal-based functional foods while ensuring that they are acceptable to the consumer. For this purpose, newer techniques for processing cereals need to be invented.
References
1. Poli, A., Barbagallo, C.M., Cicero, A.F.G., Corsini, A., Manzato, E., Trimarco, B., Bernini, F., Visioli, F., Canzone, G., Crescini, C., de Kreutzenberg, S., Ferrara, N., Gambacciani, M., Ghiselli, A., Lubrano, C., Marelli, G., Marrocco, W., Montemurro, V., Parretti, D., Pedretti, R., Perticone, F., Stella, R. & Marangoni, F., “Nutraceuticals and functional foods for the control of plasma cholesterol levels. An intersociety position paper”. Pharmacol. Res., 134, 51–60, 2018.
2. Word Health Organization (WHO), Word Health Organization global strategy on diet, physical activity and health, http://www.scrivenerpublishing.com/guidelines.php, 2004.
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