Protein often occurs in foods in physical or chemical combinations with carbohydrates and lipids. Cereal grains contain around 75% saccharides, 10 to 15% proteins and 2% fats and are used primarily in the food industry, though they are also used in other industries and as animal feed.
Protein content levels are lowest in rice, barley, and finger millet and highest in wheat, oats, pearl millet, and proso millet. Cereal proteins are mainly stored in the endosperm, the largest portion of the seed, and are traditionally classified in albumin, globulin, prolamin, and glutelin.
The protein quality of the diet determines, in large part, how well children grow and how well adults maintain their health. High quality protein provides enough of all the essential amino acids needed to support the body’s work, and low quality proteins do not.
One of the most frequently cultivated crops in the world is wheat, which is, due to its specific proportion of gluten-forming proteins (prolamins and glutelin), used mainly in the production of bread, pasta, and various bakery products.
The content and quality of storage proteins is the principal factor affecting the technological quality of cereal grains. Protein content of wheat and flour is considered one of the best single indices of bread making quality. The quality and structure of the baked products are connected with gluten proteins. Gluten proteins improve the strength, extensibility, gas retention, and shelf life of dough; they also enhance the water retention property of the dough.
Cereal protein
