THE USE OF FAGOPYRUM TATARICUM GAERTN. WHOLE FLOUR TO CONFER PREVENTIVE CONTENTS OF RUTIN TO SOME TRADITIONAL TUSCANY BISCUITS

To meet the growing interest for new foods that may be regarded as functional aliments, of particular interest appears the utilization of the grain of Fagopyrum tataricum. The high content of rutin available in the grain and whole flour of this species, in fact, offers the opportunity to introduce in the food recipes effective amounts of this bioactive compound. Rutin is credited with a growing multiplicity of health beneficial properties that can be reasonably secured through the preventive nutrition approach. Higher contents of rutin are found in the herb of cultivated species of buckwheat. However, the handling of this material may not be as simple as that of the grain made into whole flour. Preliminary results would indicate that an intake of 50 mg of rutin with a single meal (breakfast in this case) can be feasible by adding tartary buckwheat whole flour to some traditional Tuscany biscuits without impairing texture, taste and acceptability.