Short communication Comparing sugar components of cereal and pseudocereal flour by GC–MS analysis Marijana M. Ac ˇanski a,⇑ , Djura N. Vujic ´ b a Faculty of Technology, University of Novi Sad, Bulevar Cara Lazara 1, Novi Sad, Serbia b Fins, University of Novi Sad, Bulevar Cara Lazara 1, Novi Sad, Serbia article info Article history: Received 29 March 2013 Received in revised form 27 August 2013 Accepted 29 August 2013 Available online 7 September 2013 Keywords: Cereals and pseudocereals GC–MS Carbohydrates PCA abstract Gas chromatography with mass spectrometry was used for carrying out a qualitative analysis of the eth- anol soluble flour extract of different types of cereals bread wheat and spelt and pseudocereals (amaranth and buckwheat). TMSI (trimethylsilylimidazole) was used as a reagent for the derivatisation of carbohy- drates into trimethylsilyl ethers. All samples were first defatted with hexane. (In our earlier investiga- tions, hexane extracts were used for the analysis of fatty acid of lipid components.) Many components of pentoses, hexoses and disaccharides were identified using 73 and 217 Da mass and the Wiley Online Library search. The aim of this paper is not to identify and find new components, but to compare sugar components of tested samples of flour of cereals bread wheat and spelt and pseudocereals (amarnath and buckwheat). Results were analysed using descriptive statistics (dendrograms and PCA). The results show that this method can be used for making a distinction among different types of flour. Ó 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction Wheat is one of the most important grain crops in the world. Its flour is used for making various food products such as bread, noo- dle and cakes (Gao et al., 2010). On the other hand, different stud- ies have verified that spelt is suitable for the preparation of common cereal products such as bread, flakes for breakfast and pasta (Pelillo, Ferioli, Iafelice, Marconi & Caboni, 2010). Authentic spelt flour is much more expensive for production than wheat flour, and the use of spelt has long been confined to the animal feeding (Ruibal-Mendieta et al., 2005). Buckwheat is not a cereal but is usually grouped with cereals due to its ways of cultivation and utilisation (Kim, Kim & Park, 2004). Rediscovery, promotion, and dramatic re-introduction of amaranth began in the mid 1970s and continued to grow strongly to the present day (Marcone, 2000). The nutrient composition of wheat, spelt, amaranth and buckwheat have been examined by many researchers (Alvarez-Jubete, Arendt & Gallagher, 2010). The substitution of white or whole-wheat flour with spelt, buckwheat or amaranth flour increases the nutritional and functional value of products, which, if consumed regularly, have a positive impact on human health. In the previous testing (Vujic ´ , Ac ˇanski, Bodroz ˇa-Solarov, Hristov & Krunic ´, 2012) of samples of small grains (wheat, barley and trit- icale), we noticed that liposoluble (hexane) extracts can be suc- cessfully used for fast and secure detection of flour origin. Using the samples of cereals and pseudocereals in this paper, we exam- ined the possibility of distinguishing flour origin on the basis of ethanol soluble ingredients. In the previous testing (Vujic ´ et al., 2012), the samples used were easily soluble non-polar triglycer- ides. In this paper, we used monosaccharides, their alcoholic coun- terparts and disaccharides extracted from defatted flour by simple extraction with ethanol. The content of carbohydrates in bread wheat flours is com- monly within the following limits: starch 64–74%, soluble sugars 2–4%, cellulose 0.1–2% and pentosans 1–5% (Djakovic ´, 1997). The sugar content in spelt samples was found to be more variable than in wheat samples, but the number of samples that were investi- gated is limited. With regard to free sugars, there is no difference in the total concentration between spelt and modern wheat (Escar- not, Jacquemin, Agneessens & Paquot, 2012). Buckwheat seeds contain a type of soluble carbohydrates called fagopyritols (Alva- rez-Jubete et al., 2010; Steadman et al., 2000). Soluble sugars in- clude monosaccharides and disaccharides, and play certain roles in the process of bread making (Nandini & Salimath, 2001). In ama- ranth flours, sucrose was the major sugar followed by raffinose. Inositol, stachyose, and maltose were found in small amounts in most of the samples (Becker et al., 1981). 0308-8146/$ - see front matter Ó 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.foodchem.2013.08.138 ⇑ Corresponding author. Address: Department of Applied and Engineering Chemistry, Faculty of Technology, University of Novi Sad, Bulevar Cara Lazara 1, 21000 Novi Sad, Serbia. Tel.: +381 021 485 3692; fax: +381 021 450 413. E-mail addresses: macanski@tf.uns.ac.rs (M.M. Ac ˇanski), djuravujic@gmail.com (D.N. Vujic ´). Food Chemistry 145 (2014) 743–748 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Food Chemistry journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/foodchem