Abstract Background and objectives The water absorption (WA) of white wheat flour is a major factor affecting processing quality, and millers, therefore, process their wheat to achieve the required level. Although it is likely that WA is determined by the amounts and compositions of three major grain components, starch, protein, and arabinoxylan, the contribution of the latter is not agreed and not recognized in the widely used Farrand equation. Findings We have measured a range of parameters related to fiber amount and composition and tested the ability of these to improve the prediction of WA using a modified Farrand equation. The addition of a range of single fiber traits improved the prediction of WA from a baseline of 82.98% to a maximum of 86.78%, but inclusion of all fiber traits as PCs resulted in a further improvement to 90%. Inclusion of the PCs also accounted for variation in WA between harvest years. The greatest improvement from inclusion of a single trait was observed with β‐glucan, the inclusion of arabinogalactan peptide (AGP) also resulted in improved prediction of WA. Conclusions The study shows that fiber components contribute to variation in WA, including differences between harvest years, but that β‐glucan and AGP have similar or greater impacts than AX. Significance and novelty The study dissects the contributions of AX amount and composition to WA and demonstrates a contribution of b‐glucan for the first time.

中文翻译：

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纤维成分对英国小麦吸水性的贡献

摘要 背景与目的 白小麦粉的吸水率（WA）是影响加工质量的主要因素，因此，制粉厂对其小麦进行加工以达到要求的水平。尽管 WA 很可能是由三种主要谷物成分（淀粉、蛋白质和阿拉伯木聚糖）的数量和组成决定的，但后者的贡献在广泛使用的 Farrand 方程中并没有得到一致同意和认可。结果 我们测量了一系列与纤维数量和成分相关的参数，并使用修正的 Farrand 方程测试了这些参数改进 WA 预测的能力。添加一系列单纤维性状将 WA 的预测从基线的 82.98% 提高到最大 86.78%，但将所有纤维性状纳入 PC 导致进一步提高到 90%。包含 PC 也解释了收获年份之间 WA 的变化。β-葡聚糖观察到包含单一性状的最大改进，阿拉伯半乳聚糖肽 (AGP) 的包含也导致对 WA 的预测得到改善。结论 该研究表明，纤维成分会导致 WA 的变化，包括收获年份之间的差异，但 β-葡聚糖和 AGP 的影响与 AX 相似或更大。意义和新颖性 该研究剖析了 AX 的数量和组成对 WA 的贡献，并首次证明了 b-葡聚糖的贡献。结论 该研究表明，纤维成分会导致 WA 的变化，包括收获年份之间的差异，但 β-葡聚糖和 AGP 的影响与 AX 相似或更大。意义和新颖性 该研究剖析了 AX 的数量和组成对 WA 的贡献，并首次证明了 b-葡聚糖的贡献。结论 该研究表明，纤维成分会导致 WA 的变化，包括收获年份之间的差异，但 β-葡聚糖和 AGP 的影响与 AX 相似或更大。意义和新颖性 该研究剖析了 AX 的数量和组成对 WA 的贡献，并首次证明了 b-葡聚糖的贡献。