Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Folate Content and Chemical Composition of Commercially Available Gluten-Free Flour Alternatives

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Plant Foods for Human Nutrition Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Concerns about the nutritional and sensory qualities of gluten-free (GF) products has generated interest in the evaluation of novel gluten-free ingredients. Folate content is of particular interest due to limited sources of enriched folic acid in a GF diet as well as lack of nutrient composition data in novel flours. The aim of this study was to determine the total folate content and chemical composition of GF flours commercially available in Canada. A tri-enzyme method was used to extract folate from the flour samples, and a microbiological assay was used to measure the total folate contents. The chemical compositions of the GF flours were determined according to standard Association of Official Agricultural Chemists (AOAC) International methods. Compared to all-purpose flour, 265 ± 6.9 μg/100 (dry-weight basis), chickpea flour registered the highest folate content 451 ± 10.8 μg/100 (dry-weight basis) followed by quinoa flour, 174 ± 12.4 μg/ 100 g folate (dry-weight basis). Fonio, had a total starch content of ~77% but was not a source of folate. Flaxseed, chickpea, chia and coconut flours had the highest reported protein contents (mean value: 21.3 ± 1.3%) whereas flaxseed (~42%), and chia (~35%), had the highest lipid content. These findings may inform the selection of gluten-replacement flours with acceptable nutritional properties.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Fig. 1

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Mitchell S, Gomes A, Zelig R, Parker A (2019) Not all grains are created equal: gluten-free products not included in mandatory folate fortification. Curr Dev Nutr 3(5):1–3. https://doi.org/10.1093/cdn/nzz020

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Naqash F, Gani A, Gani A, Masoodi FA (2017) Gluten-free baking: combating the challenges - a review. Trends Food Sci Technol 66:98–107. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tifs.2017.06.004

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Capriles V, Arêas J (2014) Novel approaches in gluten-free breadmaking: interface between food science, nutrition, and health. Compreh Rev Food Sci Food Safety 13(5):871–890. https://doi.org/10.1111/1541-4337.12091

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Statista (2019) Retail sales of gluten-free food in Canada from 2008 to 2017 (in million Canadian dollars) [Graph]. In Statista. https://www.statista.com/statistics/441734/gluten-free-food-sales-canada/. Accessed 17 July 2019

  5. Aziz I, Branchi F, Pearson K, Priest J, Sanders DS (2015) A study evaluating the bidirectional relationship between inflammatory bowel disease and self-reported non-celiac gluten sensitivity. Inflamm Bowel Dis 21:847–853. https://doi.org/10.1097/MIB.0000000000000335

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  6. McAllister BP, Williams E, Clarke KA (2019) Comprehensive review of celiac disease/gluten-sensitive enteropathies. Clin Rev Allergy Immunol 57(2):226–342. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12016-018-8691-2

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  7. Xhakollari V, Canavari M, Osman M (2019) Factors affecting consumers’ adherence to gluten-free diet, a systematic review. Trends Food Sci Technol 85:23–33. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tifs.2018.12.005

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Christoph M, Larson N, Hootman K, Miller J, Neumark-Sztainer D (2018) Who values gluten-free? Dietary intake, behaviors, and sociodemographic characteristics of young adults who value gluten-free food. J Acad Nutr Diet 118:1389–1398. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jand.2018.04.007

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  9. Gaesser GA, Angadi SS (2015) Navigating the gluten-free boom. JAAPA 28(8):1–7. https://doi.org/10.1097/01.JAA.0000469434.67572.a4

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Missbach B, Schwingshackl L, Billmann A, Mystek A, Hickelsberger M, Bauer G, König J (2015) Gluten-free food database: the nutritional quality and cost of packaged gluten-free foods. PeerJ 3:e1337. https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.1337

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  11. Jamieson JA, Weir M, Gougeon L (2018) Canadian packaged gluten-free foods are less nutritious than their regular gluten-containing counterparts. PeerJ 6:e5875. https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.5875

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  12. Yazynina E, Johansson M, Jägerstad M, Jastrebova J (2008) Low folate content in gluten-free cereal products and their main ingredients. Food Chem 111:236–242. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodchem.2008.03.055

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  13. Hegedus M, Pedersen B, Eggum BO (1985) The influence of milling on the nutritive value of flour from cereal grains. 7. Vitamins and tryptophan. Plant Foods Hum Nutr 35(2):175–180. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01092134

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  14. Government of Canada (2018) Food and drug regulations. Department of justice laws. http://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/PDF/C.R.C.,_c._870.pdf. Accessed 17 July 2019

  15. Shewry PR, Hey SJ (2015) The contribution of wheat to human diet and health. Food Energy Secur 4(3):178–202. https://doi.org/10.1002/fes3.64

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  16. Government of Canada (2015) Canadian nutrient file. 2015 Ed. Ottawa: Government of Canada. https://food-nutrition.canada.ca/cnf-fce/index-eng.jsp. Accessed 17 July 2019

  17. DeVries J, Rader J, Keagy P, Hudson C, Angyal G, Arcot J, Castelli M et al (2005) Microbiological assay-trienzyme procedure for total folates in cereals and cereal foods: collaborative study. J AOAC Int 88(1):5–15

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  18. Saini R, Nile S, Keum Y-S (2016) Folates: chemistry, analysis, occurrence, biofortification. Food Res Int 89:1–13. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodres.2016.07.013

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  19. AOAC (2005) Ash of flour (direct method), method 923.03. In: Official methods of analysis, 18th edn. AOAC International Publisher, Gaithersburg

    Google Scholar 

  20. Malcolmson L, Boux G, Bellido AS, Frohlich P (2013) Use of pulse ingredients to develop healthier baked products. Cereal Foods World 58:27–32. https://doi.org/10.1094/CFW-58-1-0027

    Article  Google Scholar 

  21. Hemery Y, Fontan L, Laillou A, Jallier V, Moench-Pfanner R, Avallone S, Berger J (2020) Influence of storage conditions and packaging of fortified wheat flour on microbial load and stability of folate and vitamin B12. Food Chem 5:1–10. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fochx.2019.100076

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  22. Shahid M, Lian T, Wan X, Jiang L, Han L, Zhang C, Liang Q (2020) Folate monoglutamate in cereal grains: evaluation of extraction techniques and determination by LC-MS/MS. J Food Comp Anal 91:1–8. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jfca.2020.103510

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  23. Singh J (2018) Folate content in legumes. Biomed J Sci Tech Res 3:1–6. https://doi.org/10.26717/BJSTR.2018.03.000940

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  24. Hager AS, Wolter A, Jacob F, Zannini E, Arendt EK (2012) Nutritional properties and ultra-structure of commercial gluten free flours from different botanical sources compared to wheat flours. J Cereal Sci 56(2):239–247. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcs.2012.06.005

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  25. Bonafaccia G, Marocchini I, Kreft I (2003) Composition and technological properties of the flour and bran from common and tartary buckwheat. Food Chem 80:9–15. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0308-8146(02)00228-5

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  26. Hefni ME, Schaller F, Witthoft CM (2018) Betaine, choline and folate content in different cereal genotypes. J Cereal Sci 80:72–79. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcs.2018.01.013

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  27. Yazynina E, Johansson M, Jägerstad M, Jastrebova J (2008) Low folate content in gluten-free cereal products and their main ingredients. Food Chem 111:236–242. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodchem.2008.03.055

  28. United States Department of Agriculture (2018) National nutrient database for standard reference legacy release. https://ndb.nal.usda.gov/. Accessed 19 July 2019

  29. de Lamo B, Gómez M (2018) Bread enrichment with oilseeds. A Review. Foods 7:1–14. https://doi.org/10.3390/foods7110191

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  30. Schorno A, Manthey F, Hall C III (2010) Effect of particle size and sample size on lipid stability of milled flaxseed (Linum usitatissimum L). J Food Proc Pres 34:167–179. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1745-4549.2009.00463.x

  31. Sreerama Y, Sashikala V, Pratape V, Singh V (2012) Nutrients and antinutrients in cowpea and horse gram flours in comparison to chickpea flour: evaluation of their flour functionality. Food Chem 131:462–468. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodchem.2011.09.008

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  32. Ziobro R, Juszczak L, Witczak M, Korus J (2016) Non-gluten proteins as structure forming agents in gluten free bread. J Food Sci Technol 53:571–580. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13197-015-2043-5

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  33. Gull A, Prasad K, Kumar P (2015) Effect of millet flours and carrot pomace on cooking qualities, color and texture of developed pasta. LWT - Food Sci Technol 63(1):470–474. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lwt.2015.03.008

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

A University Council on Research (UCR) grant to J. Jamieson and M. English assisted in the completion of this study. The authors also wish to acknowledge the dedicated work of research assistant Jacqueline Rusin.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Human Nutrition, Saint Francis Xavier University, PO Box 5000 StFX, 2320 Notre Dame Ave., Antigonish, Nova Scotia, B2G 2W5, Canada

    Jennifer A. Jamieson, Lauren Viana & Marcia M. English

Authors
  1. Jennifer A. Jamieson
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Lauren Viana
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Marcia M. English
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Contributions

JA Jamieson: Conceptualization, Writing- Original draft preparation, Supervision, and Resources. L. Viana: Methodology, Investigation, Writing and Reviewing; M. English: Conceptualization, Writing- Major Reviewing and Editing, Data Curation, Formal Analysis, and Supervision.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jennifer A. Jamieson.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of Interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Additional information

Publisher’s Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Jamieson, J.A., Viana, L. & English, M.M. Folate Content and Chemical Composition of Commercially Available Gluten-Free Flour Alternatives. Plant Foods Hum Nutr 75, 337–343 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11130-020-00833-z

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11130-020-00833-z

Keywords

Search

Navigation