Hydroxycinnamic Acids and Their Derivatives in Broa, a Traditional Ethnic Maize Bread

Maize is one of the most interesting dietary sources of hydroxycinnamic acids, widely known for their beneficial health effects, namely antioxidant properties. This work aims to identify hydroxycinnamic acids and their derivatives in broa, a Portuguese traditional ethnic maize bread, and corresponding maize flours. Soluble and insoluble phenolic fractions of diverse maize flours and corresponding broas were prepared and analysed by HPLC-DAD-MS/MS (high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with diode array detector and tandem mass spectrometry). Besides free hydroxycinnamic acids, mainly ferulic and p-coumaric acids, several structural isomers and stereoisomers of insoluble ferulic acid dehydrodimers (n = 18) and trimers (n = 11), were also identified. Hydroxycinnamic acid amides consisting of coumaroyl and feruloyl conjugates (n = 22) were present in both soluble and insoluble fractions of maize flours and breads, in different isomeric forms. A new compound was putatively identified as bis-N,N′-diferuloyl putrescine. Additionally, more complex and insoluble hydroxycinnamic acid amides, derived from ferulic acid dehydrodimers (n = 47) and trimers (n = 18), were also putatively identified for the first time, suggesting that hydroxycinnamic acid amides are also linked to maize cell walls. Since hydroxycinnamic derivatives were not only identified in maize flours, but also in broas, they can contribute to the antioxidant properties and beneficial health effects of maize-based foods.

"Issues and maize bread taste good when they're cool"

This paper is an analysis of the basic and extended meanings of temperature lexemes and the grammar of temperature expressions in Kambaata in comparison to related Highland East Cushitic languages of Ethiopia. Globally, Kambaata has a system of two opposing temperature values, ‘cold’ vs. ‘warm/hot’. The lexeme iib- ‘be(come) warm/hot’ contrasts with caal- ‘be(come) tactile cold’ in the tactile frame of temperature evaluation, while it contrasts with gid- ‘be(come) non-tactile cold’ in the domain of ambient (weather) and personal-feeling (inner) temperature. In addition to these central lexemes, Kambaata has a number of terms that are semantically more restricted, are less frequent and/or have an unequivocal positive or negative connotation, including, e.g., sigg- ‘be(come) comfortably cold or warm, cool’ and buss- ‘burn (tr.); be dangerously, excessively hot’. Irrespective of the temperature value, the expression of personal-feeling temperature is constructionally different from that of ambient temperature and tactile temperature; for the former a transitive, for the latter an intransitive construction is used. As for the extended uses of temperature terms, Kambaata maps warmth/heat onto freshness, busyness, and anger, and links burning heat to anger, spiciness and raging thirst. Unlike many other languages in the world, Kambaata does not relate warmth/heat to affection. Furthermore, Kambaata conceptualizes inactivity, ineptness and fear as tactile cold but the absence of emotional and physical pain as non-tactile cold. Coolness is linked metaphorically to calmness and absence of thirst. In the Highland East Cushitic branch of languages, ‘warm/hot’ is the most stable term, whereas six seemingly non-cognate roots are used for ‘tactile cold’ and/or ‘non-tactile cold'.

Consumer-Driven Improvement of Maize Bread Formulations with Legume Fortification

The fortification of maize bread with legume flour was explored in order to increase the protein content of the traditional Portuguese bread ‘broa’, comprised of more than 50% maize flour. The optimization of legume incorporation (pea, chickpea, faba bean, lentil), considering the influence of different maize flours (traditional-white, traditional-yellow, hybrid-white, hybrid-yellow), on consumer liking and sensory profiling of ‘broa’ was studied. A panel of 60 naïve tasters evaluated twenty different breads, divided in four sets for each legume flour fortification, each set including four breads with varying maize flour and a control (no legume). Tasters evaluated overall liking and the sensory profile through a check-all-that-apply ballot. Crude protein and water content were also analyzed. There were no significant differences in overall liking between the different types of legumes and maize. The incorporation of chickpea flour yields a sensory profile that most closely resembles the control. The protein content increased, on average, 21% in ‘broa’, with legume flours having the highest value obtained with faba bean incorporation (29% increase). Thus, incorporation of legume flours appears to be an interesting strategy to increase bread protein content, with no significant impact on consumer liking and the ‘broa’ bread sensory profile.

Effect of soybean/cassava flour blend on the proximate composition of Ethiopian traditional bread prepared from quality protein maize

The effect of soybean and cassava flour blend on the proximate composition of Ethiopian traditional bread prepared from quality protein maize (QPM) was tested . Normal maize and quality protein maize grains were dried , cleaned and milled using a laboratory -scale mill. Similarly, soybean seeds were roasted, boiled, decorticated, and milled into the required particle size flour sample. Cassava tubers were also peeled, chopped, dried and milled in a similar fashion. Eventually, the soybean and cassava flour samples were blended individually with the quality protein maize flour in three different proportions : 5:95, 10:90 and 15:85, respectively. Normal maize flour was used as a control for the quality protein maize flour . Then bread samples were prepared from the respective composite flours using the sponge and dough method of bread making commonly used in the country . Both the composite flours and t he respective bread samples were then analyzed for their proximate compositions : moisture, ash, crude protein, crude fat, crude fibre and carbohydrate. The proximate analyses indicated that there is a significant difference ( p ≤ 0.05 ) in proximate composition of the plain quality protein maize bread (QPMB) and the soybean- or cassava -supplemented quality protein maize bread samples (SSBs and CSBs). The ash, crude protein, crude fat and crude fibre contents of the soybean -supplemented breads increased with progressive increase in the proportion of soybean flour addition. In the case of the cassava- supplemented bread samples , the highest proximate composition values were recorded for the 10% substitution. Moreover, highest values of carbohydrate , 39.83% and 44.08% , were obtained for the 10% soybean - supplemented breads and 10% cassava- supplemented bread s, respectively. The use of these locally available and easily produced grains through blending technology of flours can contribute to combat the widespread protein- energy malnutrition (PEM) in Ethiopia. This approach can also serve as an alternative means for having balanced diet especially for the low -income groups of the most food- insecure people in the country .