NUTRITIONAL EVALUATION OF GERMINATED PURPLE PERICARP CORN AND PERFORMANCE IN THE CRUMB OF PAN BREAD

During the germination process, various physicochemical, biochemical, and biological reactions occur, resulting in nutritional benefits and technological applications. This study aimed to evaluate the performance of time (24-96h) and temperature (18-32°C) on purple pericarp corn germination on the levels of γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA), total soluble phenolic compounds (TSFC) and reducing sugars. The germinated corn flour replaced 4% of wheat flour in the pan bread formulation, and the crumb firmness and resilience were evaluated. The statistical tool applied was a Central Composite Design (R²>0.80; p<0.10). GABA levels ranged from 43.41±0.30 to 61.13±2.69mg GABA/100g of sample (db), resulting in a 40% increase (p<0.001), which can be attributed to the activation of glutamate decarboxylase (GAD), which catalyzes the decarboxylation of glutamic acid to GABA. The TSFC content
showed a 45% increase (p<0.001), with values ranging from 342±49 to 497±73mg GAE/100g of sample (db). This result is justified by the action of endogenous enzymes that favor the hydrolysis of bonds between phenolic compounds and macronutrients, especially dietary fibers. The action of enzymes was also observed in the levels of reducing sugars, where the action of α-amylase resulted in levels of reducing sugars between 3.28±0.33 and 10.77±1.48g of reducing sugars in glucose/100mL of extracts (p=0.001). This effect can be explained by the action of amylolytic enzymes, favoring starch hydrolysis. Furthermore, it was observed that the crumb firmness of the bread did not show a significant difference (4.60±0.27-8.63±0.50N) (p=0.135), but a 2-fold increase in crumb resilience (13.35±0.31 and 26.61±0.90%) (p<0.001) was observed, with longer germination times combined with lower temperatures, or vice versa, favoring increased resilience. This behavior may be related to the synthesis of amyloglucosidase, resulting in crumb with higher foldability. The germination process yielded better results with longer germination times and temperatures for GABA and reducing sugars and intermediate values for resilience and TSFC.