Cereal Grains

Cereal Grains
The major cereal crops are maize (corn), rice, wheat, barley,
sorghum, millets, oats, and rye. Worldwide these cereals are
subjected to a very diverse range of traditional and
technologically advanced processes before consumption
Types of Cereal and their Role in the Diet
• Cereal grains are seeds of cultivated annual species of the grass family
(Poaceae). Cultivated cereal species have evolved with humans and
include a range of types differing widely in their environmental
adaptation, and their utility for food or other uses.
• Each species comprises a range of Cultivars (varieties; genotypes)
which also differ in characteristics. Other cereals include
triticale(Triticosecale), a wheat –rye hybrid. However, buckwheat and
quinoa are not Poaceae and are pseudocereals.
Grain Characteristics
• The harvested grain of some cereals (wheat, maize, rye, sorghum, and
some millets) is, botanically, a caryopsis.
• In other cereals (barley, oats, rice, and some millets) the harvested
grain generally includes the hull (or husk) that encloses the caryopsis.
• The hull is tough and very high in fiber. It is unsuitable for human
nutrition and is removed.
• The caryopsis represents the edible part of the cereal grain. Cereal
caryopses have the same basic structure
• The major part is the endosperm (63–91% of the total). The
endosperm is high in starch and contains nutritionally significant
amounts of protein.
• The embryo, which is found at one end of the caryopsis, accounts for
2.5–12% of its weight.
• At harvest, cereal grains are low in moisture (12–16%) and are hard
and inedible without processing
Energy, Macronutrient, and Fiber Content
• The macronutrients (carbohydrate; protein; fat) and dietary
fiber comprise the bulk of the dry matter of cereals.
Carbohydrates are the major constituent, and there is a
nutritionally significant amount of protein. Cereals can also
be an important source of dietary fiber. However, most
cereals are low in fat.
Dietary Energy
• Dietary energy values are higher when fat is higher, and
lower when water or fiber contents are higher. Higher fiber
contents are found in whole grain and bran-rich products,
whereas water and fat contents may be changed during
processing.
Carbohydrates
• Digestible carbohydrate, in the form of starch, is the major dry matter
component of all cereals. Sugars, which usually account for much less
than 1% of cereal grain, may be added in processing.
• Most cereal starches have 20–30% amylose, the rest being
amylopectin
Protein
• Protein is the major nitrogen-containing component of cereal grains,
and most protein data are based on nitrogen determination, followed
by multiplication by nitrogen-to- protein conversion factors, which
range from 5.7 to 6.31 for cereal products.
• Protein is the lowest in rice, barley, and finger millet, and the highest
in wheat, oats, pearl millet, and proso millet
Protein Quality
• Cereal protein is predominantly endosperm storage proteins, which
are low in dietary essential (indispensable) amino acids. These amino
acids are required in differing amounts, and thus quality needs to be
related to requirements.
• The first limiting essential amino acid in cereals is generally lysine
• Tryptophan is also limiting in maize and some millets, whereas
threonine and methionine may also be limiting in some cereals.
• High lysine types of many cereals have been bred using conventional
and genetic modification techniques, but lower grain yields preclude
their wide use.
Fat
• Cereals are generally very low in fat, and most contain only 2–4%
• some types of maize and oats have more than 10% fat. The
distribution of fat within the grain is variable. In oats, fat is distributed
throughout the endosperm, whereas in maize fat is concentrated in
the germ
Micronutrient Content
• Micronutrients comprise the inorganic mineral elements and the
vitamins. Ash (inorganic mineral matter) comprises 1–3% of grain dry
matter. Major minerals elements (K, Na, Ca, P, Mg), and minor or
trace elements (Fe, Zn, Cu, Mn, etc.) are found in all cereals.
• All cereals provide vitamin, thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, vitamin B6,
folate, biotin, and choline.
• Vitamin A (retinol) is not found in cereals.
• Vitamin A deficiency can be a major problem where rice is a dietary
staple. To attempt to combat this, genetically modified ‘golden rice’
has been bred with provitamin A levels of approximately 3 mg per
100g.

Cereal Grains

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Cereal Grains

Uploaded by

Document Information

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Cereal Grains

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Cereal Grains

You might also like