The applications of microfluidization in cereals and cereal-based products: An overview

Although, the consumption of food consisting of fiber presents some important nutritional, functional and health benefits, manufacturers and researchers have reported that the use of high amount of fiber worsens the product quality. Besides, consuming large quantities of dietary fiber delays intestinal gas transit. In cereal grains, phenolic compounds are covalently bound to indigestible polysaccharides thus this complex bran matrix restricts its release in small intestine resulting in low bioavailability. Therefore, in order to overcome the problems related to the characteristics of fiber, the use of large quantities of dietary fiber in cereal based products as well as the low bioavailability of phenolic compounds; food scientists explore alternative milling methods to traditional treatments. The potential use of microfluidization in cereal-based products including wheat bran, corn bran, zein, rice bran and starches has been highlighted. Functionalization through microfluidization has been applied as a prospective method for production of fibrous structures from cereal brans and it improves surface areas, water holding capacity, swelling capacity, porosity, oil-holding capacity, cation-exchange capacity and the exposure of the phenolic compounds and hence the associated antioxidant capacity of fibers. Microfluidization also offers a promising method for the formation of complexes between starches and a fatty acid, which has potential to create a new functional resistant starch ingredient with increased viscosity and improved water-holding properties. Microfluidized cereal by-products provide some important unique functional and nutritional properties to bakery products. In this perspective, this paper provides an overview of the findings on the use of microfluidization in cereals and cereal-based products.