Innovative technology of the process of disinfection and inactivation of antinutrients in compound feeds using liquid components

Научный и практический интересы представляют процессы обеззараживания и инактивации антипитательных веществ в комбикормах. Известны разные технологии обеззараживания (например, нагрев, давление, растворы антимикробных препаратов и другие новые технологии) для повышения эффективности снижения риска заболеваний не только животных и птиц, но и людей. Процессы обеззараживания и инактивации антипитательных веществ может применяться к широкому набору пищевых продуктов и к сырью комбикормовой промышленности. Однако необходимо провести дальнейшие исследования, чтобы понять кинетику инактивации антипитательных веществ в комбикормах для достижения приемлемой технологии обеззараживания. Исследовано влияние гидротермической обработки на поверхностную и глубинную микрофлору зернового сырья. С увеличением времени обработки пшеница и ячмень, искусственно зараженные, а также зараженные естественным способом, были обеззаражены предлагаемым способом на 100 %. Получены химико-технологические характеристики кондиционированного зерна, результаты которых представлены для процессов пропаривания и охлаждения. Установлено, что с увеличением температуры влажность пропаренных и увлажненных зерен пшеницы возрастает с 15,2 до 21,7 %, для зерен ячменя - с 15,3 до 12,8 %. При этом исходная влажность пшеницы составила 10,8 %, а ячменя - 11,2 %. Определено, что при увеличении продолжительности пропаривания и увлажнения зерен пшеницы давление уменьшается с 0,15 до 0,19 МПа и уменьшается расход пара с 85 до 60 кг/т. Анализ физико-механических свойств для пшеницы и ячменя показал, что объемная масса исследуемых образцов возросла. Угол естественного откоса составил для пшеницы 45-48, для ячменя 43-50. Трехстадийную технологию гидротермической обработки комбикормов рекомендуется использовать в трехсекционном реакторе-кондиционере, в котором продукт равномерно кондиционируется с инактивацией антипитательных веществ, обеззараживается и частично желатинизируется. The processes of anti-nutrients disinfection and inactivation in compound feeds are of scientific and practical interest. Various disinfection technologies are known (for example, heating, pressure, solutions of antimicrobial preparations and other new technologies) to increase the effectiveness of diseases risk reducing not only for animals and birds, but for humans as well. The processes of anti-nutrients desinfection and inactivation can be applied to a wide variety of food products and feedstock raw materials. However, further research is necessary to understand the kinetics of anti-nutrients inactivation in compound feeds to achieve an acceptable disinfection technology. The influence of hydrothermal treatment on the surface and deep microflora of grain raw materials was investigated in the work. With an increase in the processing time, both artificially infected and naturally infected wheat and barley were 100 % disinfected with the method proposed. Chemical- and technological characteristics of conditioned grain were received. Their results are presented for the steaming and cooling processes. It was found out that with an increase in temperature, the humidity of steamed and moistened wheat grains increases from 15.2 to 21.7 %, and of barley grains from 15.3 to 12.8 %. At the same time, the initial moisture content of wheat was 10.8 %, and of barley - 11.2 %. It was determined that with an increase in the duration of steaming and moistening of wheat grains, the pressure decreases from 0.15 to 0.19 MPa, and the steam consumption decreases from 85 to 60 kg/t. Analysis of wheat and barley physical- and mechanical properties revealed that the bulk density of the samples studied increased. The repose angle was 45-48 for wheat and 43-50 for barley. It is recommended to use a three-stage technology of compound feed hydrothermal treatment in a three-section reactor-conditioner. The product is uniformly conditioned with anti-nutrients inactivation, disinfected and partially gelatinized in it.

Transcriptomic and Physiological Response of Durum Wheat Grain to Short-Term Heat Stress during Early Grain Filling

In a changing climate, extreme weather events such as heatwaves will be more frequent and could affect grain weight and the quality of crops such as wheat, one of the most significant crops in terms of global food security. In this work, we characterized the response of Triticum turgidum L. spp. durum wheat to short-term heat stress (HS) treatment at transcriptomic and physiological levels during early grain filling in glasshouse experiments. We found a significant reduction in grain weight (23.9%) and grain dimensions from HS treatment. Grain quality was also affected, showing a decrease in starch content (20.8%), in addition to increments in grain protein levels (14.6%), with respect to the control condition. Moreover, RNA-seq analysis of durum wheat grains allowed us to identify 1590 differentially expressed genes related to photosynthesis, response to heat, and carbohydrate metabolic process. A gene regulatory network analysis of HS-responsive genes uncovered novel transcription factors (TFs) controlling the expression of genes involved in abiotic stress response and grain quality, such as a member of the DOF family predicted to regulate glycogen and starch biosynthetic processes in response to HS in grains. In summary, our results provide new insights into the extensive transcriptome reprogramming that occurs during short-term HS in durum wheat grains.

Programmed Degradation of Pericarp Cells in Wheat Grains Depends on Autophagy

Wheat is one of the most important food crops in the world, with development of the grains directly determining yield and quality. Understanding grain development and the underlying regulatory mechanisms is therefore essential in improving the yield and quality of wheat. In this study, the developmental characteristics of the pericarp was examined in developing wheat grains of the new variety Jimai 70. As a result, pericarp thickness was found to be thinnest in grains at the top of the spike, followed by those in the middle and thickest at the bottom. Moreover, this difference corresponded to the number of cell layers in the pericarp, which decreased as a result of programmed cell death (PCD). A number of autophagy-related genes (ATGs) are involved in the process of PCD in the pericarp, and in this study, an increase in ATG8-PE expression was observed followed by the appearance of autophagy structures. Meanwhile, following interference of the key autophagy gene ATG8, PCD was inhibited and the thickness of the pericarp increased, resulting in small premature grains. These findings suggest that autophagy and PCD coexist in the pericarp during early development of wheat grains, with both processes increasing from the bottom to the top of the spike. Moreover, PCD was also found to rely on ATG8-mediated autophagy. The results of this study therefore provide a theoretical basis for in-depth studies of the regulatory mechanisms of wheat grain development.

Standards of freshness and shelf life of food grain of wheat

Приведены результаты изменения показателя кислотного числа жира (КЧЖ) продовольственного зерна пшеницы урожаев 2015 и 2018 гг. при длительном лабораторном хранении в условиях пониженных (+10 °С), умеренных (+20 °С), повышенных (+30 °С) температур и стандартной влажности для зерна пшеницы (не выше 14 %). Доказана возможность использования этого показателя для установления сроков безопасного хранения и годности зерна. Для определения норм свежести и годности продовольственного зерна пшеницы по нормам значения КЧЖ, разработанным ранее для пшеничной муки, были отобраны 35 проб зерна пшеницы с широким диапазоном значений КЧЖ и произведены лабораторные помолы муки высшего сорта. Установлена взаимосвязь показателя КЧЖ муки после созревания от показателя КЧЖ исходного зерна. По результатам статистической обработки полученной зависимости авторам удалось определить нормы свежести и годности продовольственного зерна пшеницы, которые составили 29 мг КОН на 1 г жира и 50 мг КОН на 1 г жира соответственно. The results of changes in the indicator of the acid number of fat (FAV) of food grain of wheat of the harvests of 2015 and 2018 are presented during long-term laboratory storage under conditions of low (+10 °C), moderate (+20 °C), high (+30 °C) temperatures and standard humidity for wheat grain (not higher than 14 %). The possibility of using this indicator has been proven to establish the terms of safe storage and shelf life of grain. To determine the norm of freshness and shelf life of food grains of wheat according to the norms of the FAV value developed earlier for wheat flour, 35 samples of wheat grains with the FAV values of 9.1 to 53.4 mg KOH per 1 g of fat were taken and laboratory grinding of the premium flour was made. The relationship between the FAV index of flour after ripening and the FAV index of the original grain has been established. Based on the results of statistical processing of this relationship, the authors were able to determine the norms of freshness and shelf life of food grain of wheat, which amounted to 29 mg KOH per 1 g of fat and 50 mg KOH per 1 g of fat, respectively.

Transcriptomic and Physiological Response of Durum Wheat Grain to Short-Term Heat Stress during Early Grain Filling

In a changing climate, extreme weather events such as heat waves will be more frequent and could affect grain weight and the quality of crops such as wheat, one of the most significant crops in terms of global food security. In this work, we characterized the response of Triticum turgidum spp. durum wheat to a short-term heat-stress (HS) treatment at transcriptomic and physiological levels during early grain filling in glasshouse experiments. We found a significant reduction in grain weight and size from HS treatment. Grain quality was also affected, showing a decrease in starch content in addition to increments in grain protein levels. Moreover, an RNA-seq analysis of durum wheat grains allowed us to identify 1590 differentially expressed genes related to photosynthesis, response to heat, and carbohydrate metabolic process. A gene regulatory network analysis of HS-responsive genes uncovered novel transcription factors (TFs) controlling the expression of genes involved in abiotic stress response and grain quality, such as a member of the DOF family predicted to regulate glycogen and starch biosynthetic processes in response to HS in grains. In summary, our results provide new insights into the extensive transcriptome reprogramming that occurs during short-term HS in durum wheat grains.

Mechanical Properties of Wheat Grains at Compression

Hook’s law for evaluation of the modulus of elasticity of wheat grains and its general behaviour under compressive loads were studied. Whole specimens were subjected to compressive loading between metal parallel plates. The mechanical properties of grains were determined in terms of average failure strengths of grain bran and whole grain; deformation; and modulus of elasticity. The mechanical properties of very dry grains of the winter wheat Triticum aestivum L. with the moisture content of 10.3% were studied. The failure strength of grain bran was 4.43 MPa at the deformation of 10.7%, and the failure strength of whole grains was 4.88 MPa at the deformation of 13.5%. The modulus of elasticity of grains was 43.67 MPa. The apparent energy density at bran failure strength was 0.261 MJ·m−3, and 0.470 MJ·m−3 on the level of grain failure strength of the whole grain. The bran border structure of central inner part of grains was studied using microscope digital sections of longitudinal cuts of the grains using the image computer processing method. The area proportion of starch and pericarp of the border parts of grains was studied to describe the border texture of central sections of grains.