Frumenti antichi e popolazioni evolutive come tutela della biodiversità del genere Triticum: qualità della pasta integrale

The interest for unrefined cereal products, and for ancient and traditional wheat varieties (AW) obtained also from evolutionary populations (EP) is increasing. 2 durum wheat AWs (T. turgidum) (S.CappellixSvevo (CS), S.Cappelli (C)), 1 T. turanicum AW (Khorasan (K)), 2 EPs (T. turgidum, T. turanicum) (Evoldur N ed F (EN, EF)) cultivated in the same growing season in Tuscany and one sample of modern durum wheat (T. turgidum) (CTR) were milled as coarse semolina and used for pasta-making using standardized processing conditions to obtain dry pasta (spaghetti), characterized for physico-chemical, nutritional e sensory properties. Pasta samples showed significant differences in chemical composition. Cooking significantly modified the relative abundances of macronutrients. The cooking properties of AW samples were similar to those of CTR. No significant differences were obtained in the overall liking of pasta samples evaluated by 80 consumers (affective test - ISO 11136:2014) which resulted extremely appreciated obtaining exceptionally high scores (>70 VAS scale). This study outlined the importance of studying wheat varieties alternative to the conventional ones to safeguard genus Triticum biodiversity, and to promote sustainability and nutritional quality of cereal-based products.