Analytical techniques for the elucidation of wheat bran constituents and their structural features with emphasis on dietary fiber - A review

Wheat bran is a by-product of white flour production available in abundance. It consists of nutritionally and technologically valuable constituents, above all around 50% of dietary fiber. Numerous applications ranging from functional dietary fiber to fine chemicals are currently being developed in order to valorize wheat bran beyond animal feed. This shift in utilization necessitates an adequate set of analytical tools. This review gives an overview over the analysis of wheat bran constituents in general and dietary fiber in particular with a focus on instrumental techniques. Gas chromatography, liquid chromatography, capillary electrophoresis, thin layer chromatography, size-exclusion chromatography, field-flow fractionation, nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy and infrared as well as near-infrared spectroscopy are presented and evaluated in detail for dietary fiber analysis. In addition, Association of Official Analytical Communities (AOAC) methods are discussed.