Health benefits related to consumption of whole grains have been attributed in part to phytochemical and micronutrient composition. Understanding the composition, structure and distribution of these components in different cereal grains is of potential importance in aiding the selection of whole grains and their processed fractions for inclusion in the diet, and as ingredients in development of new food products. The aim of this research was to characterise the chemical components in the botanical fractions of yellow corn, barley, wheat. Manual separation, a tedious and laborious technique that yields pure fractions, suitable for compositional analysis, was used to separate whole grains into pericarp, aleurone layer, germ and endosperm fractions. Component identification and quantification of tissue components was accomplished by several techniques. The study also explored the possibility of using spectral characteristics fluorescence intensity values to provide rapid estimates of the concentrations and distribution of ferulic acid (FA), a major phenolic compound in cereal grains. While composition of phenolic acids and carotenoids was similar, the distribution was significantly different (P < 0.05) among cereal types and grain fractions. Phenolic acids were concentrated in pericarp and aleurone fractions, followed by the germ and the endosperm had the lowest levels. Yellow corn exhibited the highest values. Carotenoids, lutein and zeaxanthin were concentrated in the germ and aleurone layer of wheat and barley while in yellow corn it was in the endosperm and aleurone layer. This is the first study to report on carotenoid composition of aleurone fractions. Mineral elements, thiamine and niacin were higher in wheat aleurone than in purple barley and yellow corn aleurone layers. These findings suggest that yellow corn aleurone layers have potential as a functional food ingredient despite the low micronutrient content. A positive, significant correlation (r= 0.421, p < 0.0001) was found between fluorescence intensity values and ferulic acid concentration. Thus, fluorescence intensity profiles are a promising approach for rapid assessment of FA concentration in grain in-situ. This work has provided information that would act as a database for selection of cereal fractions and guide the miller to obtain grain fractions with enriched levels of phytochemicals and micronutrients. / February 2016

Cette étude a pour objectif d'évaluer la relation entre la structure (au niveau physique et / ou moléculaire) de son de blé et de la couche à aleurone et leurs effets santé. En gardant la composition du son et de l'aleurone constante, leur structures ont été modifiés par des traitements mécaniques et / ou enzymatiques de façon à casser leur structure matricielle complexe et d'augmenter la bioaccessibilité des leurs fibres alimentaires et composés phénoliques. La capacité antioxydante des ces fractions a été évaluée par une méthode standard in vitro et par un modèle de digestion gastrique in vitro. La déstructuration physique du son et aleurone par le broyage a augmenté leur surface spécifique conduisant à une plus grande exposition du groupement acide férulique (AF) qui a augmenté leur capacité antioxydante. Le traitement enzymatique réalisée sur aleurone a modifié son organisation moléculaire, qui a largement libéré l'AF des arabinoxylanes (AX). Cette destructuration a apporté une amélioration plus importante sur la capacité antioxydante de l'aleurone que celle mené par le broyage. Comme l'aleurone est riche en AX fermentescibles, les effets de sa structure plus accessible et avec une plus grande dépolymérisation ont été évaluées en utilisant un modèle in vitro en mimant le côlon humain. La déstructuration physique de l'aleurone par le broyage n'a pas amélioré leur pouvoir fermentescible, c'est à dire que le métabolisme de composés phénoliques et de la formation des chaînes courtes d'acides gras ont été comparable à ceux obtenus pour l'aleurone natif. Néanmoins, la dégradation enzymatique de l'aleurone en apportant une plus grande quantité des AX soluble et de l'AF biodisponible a augmenté le métabolisme de l'AF dans le colon dans des métabolites avec propriétés anti-inflammatoires. Une étude in vivo avec des souris sur un régime riche en graisses a été fait pour évaluer le potentiel de l'aleurone physiquement et moléculaire déstructuré pour neutraliser les désordres métaboliques tels que l'obésité, le stress oxydatif et l'inflammation. La déstructuration physique de l'aleurone n'a pas eu d'effet positif sur les désordres métaboliques. La fraction d'aleurone qui a présenté la plus grande quantité d'AX soluble et de l'AF biodisponible a bien réduit l'obésité (gain de poids, l'adiposité et la sécrétion de leptine) et la résistance à l'insuline chez la souris. Par contre, aucune différence significative n'a été observée dans le stress oxydatif et l'inflammation des souris nourries avec des régimes enrichis en aleurone. En conclusion, nous avons démontré que les effets santé de l'aleurone sont clairement liées à l'intégrité de sa structure. Ses effets santé ont été accrues par une modification de sa structure principalement au niveau moléculaire en dégradant ses parois cellulaire pour augmenter la bioaccessibilité et la biodisponibilité des composés nutritionnellement intéressants, tels que l'AX et l'FA. / The objective of this study was to evaluate the relationship between the structure (at physical and/or molecular level) of wheat bran and aleurone and their health effects. Keeping the composition of bran and aleurone constant, their structure was modified by mechanical and/or enzymatic treatments in order to disrupt their complex matrix structure and increase the bioaccessibility of their dietary fibre and phenolic compounds. The antioxidant capacity of the bran and aleurone fractions was evaluated by a standard in vitro test and by an in vitro gastric digestion model. The grinding disrupted the physical structure of bran and aleurone increasing their specific surface leading to a greater exposition of ferulic acid moiety (FA) which increased their antioxidant capacity. Enzymatic treatment performed on aleurone acted on its molecular organisation releasing its FA from arabinoxylans (AX). This destructuration improved the antioxidant capacity of aleurone even more than the one allowed by grinding. As aleurone is rich in highly fermentable AX, the effects of its better accessibility and depolymerisation were evaluated using an in vitro model mimicking the human colon. The physical destructuration of aleurone by grinding did not improve its fermentability, i.e. the colonic metabolism of phenolic compounds and the formation of short-chain fatty acids were similar compared to the native aleurone. Nevertheless, the enzymatic degradation of aleurone produced higher amount of soluble AX and bioavailable FA improving the metabolism of colonic FA in metabolites with anti-inflammatory properties. An in vivo mouse study with a high-fat diet was used to evaluate the potential of physically and molecularly destructured aleurone to counteract the metabolic disorders, such as obesity, oxidative stress and inflammation. The physical destructuration of aleurone did not have any positive effect on the metabolic disorders. The aleurone fraction, which presented the highest level of soluble AX and bioavailable FA, reduced the obesity (body weight gain, adiposity, and leptin secretion) and insulin resistance in mice. But no significant differences were observed in the oxidative stress and inflammation status of mice fed with any of the aleurone-based diets. In conclusion, we demonstrated that the aleurone health effects were clearly linked to the integrity of its structure. Its health effects have been increased by modification of its structure mainly at molecular level by degrading its cell wall to increase the bioaccessibility and bioavailability of nutritionally interesting compounds, such as AX and FA.