Studies on asparagine in Nebraska wheat and other grains

Understanding of the contribution of environmental and genetic factors on the chemical composition of different grains is a critical issue in the area of food safety of cereal products. Numerous studies have reported that asparagine can form acrylamide, a toxic and potentially carcinogenic precursor compound, during a Milliard reaction. Therefore, studying the environmental and genetic effects that contribute to accumulation of asparagine in wheat and proso millet lines, which were grown in the state of Nebraska, is important for supporting breeding programs aimed at providing safer crops for consumers. In the realm of reduction of the asparagine concentration in wheat-based foods, another approach deals with the addition of the enzyme asparaginase from microbial sources to transform asparagine to aspartic acid and ammonia during processing. Data described herein provides, for the first time, preliminary evidence of asparaginase activity is present naturally in wheat kernels. Finally, correlation of asparagine with an unknown compound was discovered in a study of proton NMR spectrum of baked flour extract in deuterated chloroform. 3 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT I would like to express the deepest gratefulness to my advisor Dr. Devin J Rose, who believed in my scientific potential, inspired and motivated me in a time of need. I'm also very thankful to Dr. Joseph Baumert and Dr. Randy Wehling for serving as my committee members and providing me with highly valued advices and comments which helped to improve my research.