Wheat germ accounts for 1.5-3.9% of the weight of wheat grain, is the highest nutritional value of the whole wheat grain part, wheat germ contains about 27%-30% protein, 8%-11% fat, 15-20% sugar compounds, 4-5% ash and 8%-10% cellulose and hemicellulose, as well as a variety of vitamins, minerals, and a number of micro-physiologically active ingredients, nutrient-rich and balanced.

The composition of wheat germ and its functional properties

1. Wheat germ carbohydrates
Wheat germ carbohydrates are divided into two parts, digestible carbohydrates and non-digestible carbohydrates, the former is mainly starch and sucrose, can be enzymatically to provide energy, the latter is mainly cell wall polysaccharides and cotton sugar, can not be digested by the human body’s digestive enzymes, but to play an important physiological functions such as anticancer, anti-aging, lowering blood lipids and prevention and treatment of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases.

2. Wheat germ protein
Wheat germ protein in the water insoluble protein accounted for 30.2%, non-protein nitrogen accounted for 11.3-11.5%, the protein amino acid ratio is appropriate, and FAO/WHO promulgated that the proportion of amino acid composition is basically close to the total amount of higher than the FAO/WHO model, containing the human body 8 kinds of essential amino acids, is a kind of complete protein, the wheat germ is an important high-quality plant proteins.

3.Glutathione
Glutathione is a tripeptide composed of glutamic acid, cysteine and glycine, which plays an important role in the redox of human cells, avoiding the formation of peroxides in the body, protecting the activity of intracellular sulfhydryl enzymes, preventing the denaturation of proteins due to sulfhydryl oxidation, and decreasing the attack of free radicals on DNA, thus reducing DNA damage and mutation, and at the same time, it has a better preventive effect and therapeutic effect on the liver damage caused by chemotherapeutic drugs. At the same time, glutathione has better preventive effect and therapeutic effect on liver damage caused by chemotherapy drugs.

4. Wheat germ fat
Wheat germ fat including unsaturated fatty acids and saturated fatty acids, the former accounted for more than 80%, mainly oleic acid, linoleic acid and linolenic acid, saturated fatty acids are mainly palmitic acid, in addition to a small amount of phospholipids and unsaponifiables, unsaturated fatty acids in the linoleic acid can be esterified with cholesterol in the blood vessels of the human body, with the prevention of atherosclerosis of the human body’s efficacy, on the regulation of human blood pressure, reduce serum cholesterol, prevention of cardiovascular disease has an important role. Cardiovascular disease has an important role, but also to prevent the body metabolic disorders produced by skin lesions and reproductive function lesions.

5. Wheat germ vitamins
Wheat germ contains vitamin B1, B2, B6, niacin, pantothenic acid, folic acid, vitamin E, etc. These vitamins are involved in the body’s metabolism of proteins, lipids and sugar, vitamin E exists in the wheat germ oil, which has the effect of enhancing blood circulation, preventing arteriosclerosis, anti-aging, and also has a special role in preventing skin freckles and acne.

6. Wheat germ pigment
Wheat germ pigment mainly includes wheat flavonoids and carotenoids, wheat germ carotenoids mainly contain carotene and lutein, natural wheat germ oil yellow-orange is the color of carotenoids, carotenoids have anti-radiation, anti-aging, prevention and treatment of tumors and other efficacies, the main component of wheat germ pigment is wheat flavonoids, with a wide range of physiological activity, able to capture the organisms within the lipid peroxidation radicals and superoxide and oxygen It can capture lipid peroxidation radicals and superoxide and oxygen ions in organisms, cut off the chain reaction of lipid peroxidation, chelate metal ions to make them passivate, and prevent the action of oxidative enzymes, thus it has antioxidant effect.

Wheat germ products

Wheat germ has special nutritional functions and is one of the best nutrients in human food. Wheat germ contains 2-3% dietary fiber, which has the effect of lowering blood cholesterol level, promoting gastrointestinal peristalsis and preventing gastrointestinal cancer. In addition, wheat germ extract can promote metabolism within pancreatic cancer cells and inhibit tumor proliferation. At present, the comprehensive utilization of wheat germ in China mainly has the following aspects:

1. Wheat germ edible oil and its products
In recent years, wheat germ oil is very popular in the international market. In developed countries, it has become a necessary health product for many consumers. Domestically, the development of wheat germ oil is still in the primary stage, therefore, wheat germ oil and its products are very broad prospects for development both abroad and at home.

At present, the wheat germ as raw material, by extrusion puffing, microwave drying, leaching oil, hydration, alkali refining, decolorization and deodorization and other processes to get refined wheat germ oil, in the use of microencapsulation technology to get microencapsulated wheat germ oil powder grease, wheat germ oil can be made into gelatin pills, preservation of good, easy to carry, easy to take orally, a wide range of varieties, in addition, can also be made into oil, paste, powder products.

Some foreign manufacturers of wheat germ oil as margarine, shortening and other processed fats and oils components. Wheat germ oil can also be used with fruit juice, fermented milk, sweeteners, natural colloids formulated into a variety of health beverages; can be added to bread, cookies, maltose, fudge and other confectionery pastries to strengthen the product nutrients; can be added to yogurt, whole milk powder and other dairy products to enhance the antioxidant properties of dairy products; but also can be added to the hormones such as prostaglandins, hormone activity and so on, the positive and the good.

2.wheat germ soy products
2.1 wheat germ tofu: wheat germ powder can be added to soy milk in the manufacture of tofu, or wheat germ powder and soybean flour mixed with water homogenization, and then coagulant coagulation. Both different proportions of the finished product, the flavor and texture will be different, you can get the texture and flavor superior to the traditional taste of tofu, cool pudding tofu and tofu close to sour cheese dessert.

2.2 Wheat Germ Soymilk: Soymilk is made by adding wheat germ extract or ultra-micro-crushed wheat germ powder, boiled, filtered, re-flavored, homogenized, and sterilized to produce wheat germ soymilk with a plant-based aroma, which has a sweet and mellow taste and aroma. In addition, add peanut milk or other nuts powder, pulp, can be made into compound soy milk.

2.3 wheat germ soy sauce: soybean flour, add wheat germ powder, according to the traditional fermentation process to make soy sauce, can be rich in nutrients wheat germ soy sauce.

3.Wheat germ baking, steaming foods
Wheat germ can be directly added to the flour, made of a variety of wheat germ baking, cooking foods, such as bread, pastries, cookies, steamed bread, etc., in order to enhance the nutritional value of its food, balancing a variety of amino acids, to supplement the lack of lysine in wheat flour.

In addition, wheat germ can also provide many qualitative functions, such as improving the hydration degree of dough, rheology, emulsification, etc. When adding germ in steamed bread, within a certain additive range (0-2%), the total score of steamed bread increases on the increase of the addition of germ powder, more than this value is the total score of steamed bread decreases with the increase in the amount of additive, and the wheat flavor of the steamed bread also has this trend.

Therefore, germ can not only increase the nutritional value of baked and steamed food, but also improve the processing quality of flour, such as it can reduce the gluten of the dough, increase the wheat flavor of the food, can be used as a steamed bread, pastry cookies improver.

4. Wheat germ beverage
Li Huixia developed a “wheat germ protein drink”, is based on wheat germ as raw material through the extraction and leaching technology to make a plant protein drink with rich nutritional factors and its preparation method, the drink mainly consists of wheat germ, emulsifying thickener, aroma enhancer, antioxidants, sweeteners, rich in nutrients, easy to absorb and digest, unique taste, sweet taste, and can be used as a bread improver. The taste is unique and sweet, and it has the effect of making chemical carcinogens in the body lose their toxicity, protecting the brain, promoting the growth and development of infants and young children, lowering serum cholesterol, and preventing diabetes, as well as promoting the development of beneficial intestinal flora.

In addition, the leaching extract of wheat germ has high nutritional value and can be used to make nutritional beverages.

For example, wheat germ leaching extract can be made into wheat germ nutritional powder by concentration, spraying, drying and so on.

Wheat germ can also be added to dairy products after inoculation of lactic acid bacteria fermented into fermented germ drink or directly with wheat germ juice to make fermented germ drink. In addition, wheat germ can also and ginkgo, mung bean, jujube and so on mixed production of complex drinks.

5. Fortified wheat germ paste series products
In the wheat germ add soy protein powder, egg yolk powder, peanut protein powder, rice flour, etc., in the addition of other nutritional components. Such as phospholipids, vitamin C, beta-carotene, etc. made of composite nutrition germ paste. In addition, can also be used as health food ingredients and frozen sweets such as ice cream components to enhance the nutritious.

6. Wheat germ leisure food
Wheat germ for puffing and extrusion, can be processed into a variety of tasty and nutritious wheat germ food, germ puffed food can regulate the body’s water-electrolyte balance, to promote the growth and development of children have a good role, but also can regulate the elderly cardiovascular disease, to maintain a stable environment in the body and so on have an important role.

Because of the rich content of minerals, protein, etc., very suitable for children and the elderly to eat, and wheat germ snacks crispy and delicious, is a good product for leisure meals.

7. Wheat germ soup
In a variety of soup add wheat germ powder to replace starch, flour, etc., can increase nutrition, but also will not nutrition soup freshness. In addition, foreign countries choose wheat germ powder as a substitute for thickening materials such as tomato pulp, but also to enrich the nutritional properties of food.

8. Glutathione health products

Glutathione (GSH) is a tripeptide compound made of glutamic acid cysteine and glycine condensed by peptide bond. It is a kind of short active peptide with a wide range of uses, which can enhance the immune system of human body, and it can play a protective role for the symptoms of leucopenia caused by radiation, radiopharmaceuticals, or due to the anti-tumor drugs.

Analysis of the reasons for the current utilization of wheat germ

China has extremely rich wheat germ resources, however, due to its characteristics of not easy to preserve and the lack of appropriate technology and equipment, for a long time, the vast majority of milling enterprises choose to mix it with bran as feed for sale, resulting in valuable wheat germ resources have not been fully, reasonably and efficiently utilized. Restrictions on the reasonable utilization of wheat germ raw materials are as follows:

1. Rapid rancidity and deterioration of wheat germ. Wheat germ is the most physiologically active part of the wheat grain, and the highest fat content, when the germ and wheat grain separation, under the action of high-energy lipase, within a short period of time will make its fatty acid value greatly increased, causing wheat germ rancidity and deterioration; at the same time microbial growth and reproduction accelerated, but also lead to wheat germ agglomeration, mildew and fermentation and other deterioration. Therefore, the rapid rancidity and deterioration of wheat germ has been one of the bottlenecks restricting the development of wheat germ processing industry.

2. Wheat germ raw material resources are scattered, the quality of good and bad. The total amount of wheat germ in China is large, however, as far as a small flour enterprise (250t/d) is concerned, its annual output of wheat germ is only about 120t, which makes it difficult to form the scale benefit; on the other hand, the different milling techniques of sub-flour enterprises lead to the uneven quality of wheat germ. Thus, it is difficult for the relevant enterprises to realize intensive deep processing of wheat germ.

3. Lack of deep utilization technology of wheat germ. At present, although many flour enterprises generally have the ability to extract embryo, but also for a period of time extracted wheat germ, finally due to the lack of utilization pathway, wheat germ efficiency is not smooth and intolerance of storage, and finally gave up the extraction of wheat germ.