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© Copyright 2009 AACC International.
Published April 2009.
Einkorn: Functional wheat for health promotion
E.-S.M. Abdel-Aal. Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Guelph, Ontario.
Abdel-Aal, E.-S.M. 2009. Einkorn: Functional wheat for health promotion. Online. AACC International Cereal Science Knowledge Database
Einkorn (Triticum monococcum) is the most primitive cultivated wheat by mankind containing the simplest genetic makeup among wheat species. It has a pair of seven chromosomes set (e.g. 14 chromosomes or AA) compared to 28 chromosomes in durum (AABB) and 42 chromosomes in common wheat (AABBDD). Such simple genetic composition would be accommodating in the development of einkorn with enhanced quality and health aspects. In addition, einkorn grains exhibit exceptional morphological, compositional and functional characteristics that would make einkorn a potential candidate for the development of functional wheat. Einkorn is a hulled wheat that requires dehulling prior to processing for food use, but the presence of hulls would be beneficial to the seed during storage and cultivation. The kernel has no crease which would be a good feature in milling performance. Einkorn grains contain high levels of protein and carotenoids holding a promise for the development of high lutein functional foods. Such functional foods would play significant roles in the management of age-related macular degeneration, the causing factor of irreversible blindness in elderly people. Research has also shown that einkorn possesses less toxicity in celiac disease which would help understand the complexity of celiac toxicity in wheat. This might also lead to the development of non-toxic cereal foods for celiac patients. Celiac disease affects about 0.2–1.0% of the world population and the number is steadily increasing worldwide. These aspects and recent research on einkorn will be discussed.
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