Soft Wheat

SOFT WHEAT
 

     The most commonly used species in the food industry from the genus wheat are hard wheat Triticum durum Desf. and soft wheat Triticum aestivum L. Both species are highly polymorphic and have numerous varieties.

     Main differences in the chemical composition of soft and hard wheat are as follows:

     – soft wheat grains contain a lot of biologically available starch, unlike hard wheat, whose starch has low biological availability as it is bound to proteins, and its grains do not break down during heat treatment. This results in significantly higher caloric content of soft wheat compared to hard wheat. The starch grains of soft wheat are larger, and flour made from it is white, crumbly, absorbs little water, which causes bread made from it to stale quickly. The starch grains of hard wheat are smaller, harder, and the flour from it can absorb water in large quantities. The carbohydrates in hard wheat are more complex in structure compared to soft varieties, and the body requires significantly more energy to break them down;

     – hard wheat varieties contain more carotenoids (especially beta-carotene), which is why the flour from it often has a creamy hue, and less fat;

     – hard wheat contains more protein and more gluten (gluten) – a alcohol-soluble protein complex from the alpha-gliadin group, which is associated with baking qualities. The gluten content is related to the problem faced by some individuals who are highly sensitive to it when consuming products made from hard wheat flour. In such patients, who are highly sensitive to alpha-gliadins, the consumption of baked goods leads to the development of a disease known as celiac disease (gluten enteropathy). There are several theories regarding the pathogenesis of celiac disease, the main ones being toxic and immunological. The essence of the toxic theory is that, possibly (although not yet definitively proven), one of the peptidases is absent in the mucosa of patients, resulting in poor breakdown of gluten and its glutamine-rich fragments into dipeptides and amino acids, which ultimately accumulate in the mucosa, exerting a toxic effect. According to the immunological theory, alpha-gliadins share common immunodeterminant groups with enterocyte proteins (epithelial cells of the small intestine). When gluten enters the bloodstream, an autoimmune reaction develops in patients, affecting enterocytes. In cases of mild damage, intestinal absorption is impaired, while in severe cases, intestinal perforation occurs;

     – hard wheat contains significantly more essential amino acids, especially tryptophan and phenylalanine;

     – hard wheat contains significantly fewer phytosterols, particularly beta-sitosterol: its content in hard wheat is 14 times lower than in soft wheat (this can be used to determine the addition of soft wheat to hard wheat in the production of pasta);

     – unlike soft wheat, hard wheat contains a significant amount of purine bases, which should be considered by patients with gout.

     Thus, soft wheat is rich in vitamin PP (nicotinic acid) (25.2% of the daily norm in 100 g), vitamin B₁ (thiamine) (24.2%), pantothenic acid (21.0%), vitamin B₆ (pyridoxine) (20.8%), biotin (20.8%), beta-tocotrienol (20.7%), choline (18.0%), gamma-tocopherol (14.0%), betaine (10.1%), folic acid (9.4%).

     The mineral composition of soft wheat is represented by macro-, micro-, and ultra-trace elements. It is dominated by: vanadium (430.0%), boron (280.0%), silicon (190.8%), manganese (188.0%), cobalt (54.0%), zirconium (49.0%), copper (47.0%), selenium (44.6%), phosphorus (41.1%), iron (36.0%), molybdenum (33.7%), magnesium (29.3%), nickel (28.5%), strontium (24.1%), zinc (23.3%), potassium (14.0%), chromium (11.0%), sulfur (10.0%), thallium (10.0%).

     Soft wheat contains proteins (14.8%), essential and non-essential amino acids (in 100 g – 17.5% and 15.5% respectively). Among the essential amino acids the predominant ones are: isoleucine (22.9%) and valine (22.2%); among the non-essential amino acids  – glutamic acid (29.4%) and proline (28.6%).   

     Soft wheat is also characterized by a certain content of phytosterols (in 100 g – 15.6% of the daily norm), the main part of which is beta-sitosterol (15.2%).

     The main phytosterol in both soft and hard wheat – beta-sitosterol, in hard wheat, its content is 14 times lower than in soft wheat. Thus, in 100 g of soft wheat, the content of beta-sitosterol is 1.17-11.0 mg, while in hard wheat – only tenths of a milligram.

       The total content of carbohydrates in soft wheat is quite high (20.1%), with fiber dominating the carbohydrate composition (in 100 g – 43.2% of the daily norm). Soft wheat contains significant amounts of starch (in 100 g – 55.2 g) and pectin (in 100 g – 10.0% of the daily norm), as well as small amounts of sucrose (in 100 g – 0.78 g) and maltose (in 100 g – 0.06 g).

     The content of total purines in 100 g is 6.7% of the daily norm.

     The content of oxalic acid in 100 g is 53.3 mg, which constitutes 13.3% of the maximum allowable daily intake (for details, see Rhubarb).

     Soft wheat is capable of accumulating the toxic microelement strontium (in 100 g – 24.1% of the daily norm) and the toxic ultra-trace element thallium (10.0% respectively).

Caloric content per 100 g: 305 kcal
Water in 100 g: 14.0 g
Ash from 100 g: 1.7 g

* Full jug – 100% daily norm; empty – 0-1% daily norm.