THE USE OF TARTARY BUCKWHEAT WHOLE FLOUR TO INTRODUCE RUTIN IN PREVENTIVE AMOUNTS IN BREAD TYPICAL OF THE REGION OF TUSCANY (CENTRAL ITALY)

Thanks to the high rutin content of its grain and whole flour, tartary buckwheat can be proposed as an ingredient of new food preparations containing effective amounts of this bioactive compound credited to exert a growing multiplicity of health beneficial properties. In this respect, most dietary supplement preparations, containing around 50 mg of rutin, are suggested as the daily preventive dose. Considering that the content of rutin of tartary buckwheat whole flour usually ranges between 1000 up to 2000 mg/100 g dry weight, the introduction of a low percentage of this ingredient in the original recipe would allow to reach such amount in a food largely consumed like bread. However, efforts are to be dedicated to identify the most suited wheat flour in order not to impair texture, taste and acceptability of the bread so amended. In addition most of the rutin was not recovered in the final products, either degraded to quercetin or lost during preparation and baking processes.