Evaluation of Asparagine Concentration as an Indicator of the Acrylamide Formation in Cereals Grown under Organic Farming Conditions

Publikations-Art

Zeitschriftenbeitrag

Autoren

Falko Stockmann, Ernst Albrecht Weber, Benjamin Mas, Pat Schreiter, Nikolaus Merkt, Wilhelm Claupein and Simone Graeff-Hönninger

Erscheinungsjahr

2018

Veröffentlicht in

agronomy

Band/Volume

8/294

DOI

10.3390/agronomy8120294

Seite (von - bis)

17

This study investigated the impact of organically grown cereals on the level of free
asparagine (Asn) with simultaneous consideration of grain yields and flour qualities over three
growing seasons in Germany. Additionally, the relation of free Asn and acrylamide (AA) was
investigated. By including free Asn results of a second trial site, heritability of the trait free Asn
was calculated. Free Asn was significantly influenced by species and within species by cultivars.
Rye showed the highest free Asn amount, followed by einkorn, emmer, wheat, and spelt. Replacing
rye with spelt would reduce free Asn by 85%. Cultivars differed in free Asn by up to 67% (wheat),
55% (spelt), and 33% (rye). Year significantly influenced free Asn levels. Heritability was high for
wheat and spelt concerning locations, but regarding years, heritability was low for wheat but high
for spelt and rye. For organically grown cereals, the relation between free Asn and AA formation
has never been investigated. Across species and years, a correlation of R2 = 0.69 *** was found.
Thus, free Asn can serve as an indicator for AA formation. In conclusion, the level of free Asn can be
highly influenced by proper selection of species and cultivars.