An interview with Andrea Brandolini

Andrea Brandolini has been involved in einkorn research for many years. His findings opened our eyes to how unique einkorn really is and his continual support has greatly aided Jovial in its efforts to revive this most ancient and nutritious grain.

How long you have been involved with einkorn research? What has been your focus?

I have been working with T. monococcum since 1996. My aims are the conservation, the evaluation and the valorization of the einkorn collection maintained at CRA-SCV (Italian Agricultural Research Council).

In your opinion, why did einkorn become a rarely cultivated crop and at what point in history did its decline start?

Einkorn, domesticated about 10-12,000 years ago in the Fertile Crescent, was instrumental in the rise and spread of agriculture and a relevant food source for several thousand years in Europe and the Near East, but was replaced by durum and bread wheats from the end of the Copper Age. These last two wheats were more productive and their seeds were free-threshing, thus straightforwardly utilizable.

What is the most exciting thing you have discovered in your research?

Well, first of all we were surprised that it was possible to manufacture foods as different as bread, pasta and cookies with einkorn. But even more exciting was to find out how rich in proteins and some antioxidants (mainly carotenoids and tocols) was einkorn.

How does einkorn differ from spelt, Kamut® and other heirloom varieties?

From the nutritional point of view einkorn has more proteins, carotenoids, tocols and some trace minerals, as well as a better fatty acids composition (higher monounsaturated, lower saturated acids percentage) than the emmer, spelt, Kamut®, durum and bread wheat samples we tested.

Why has Einkorn remained the only diploid species of wheat and what does that mean?

Einkorn is the only “domesticated” diploid wheat, but some diploid wild relatives still exist. Diploid means that each cell has two copies of each chromosome; emmer, Kamut® and durum wheats are tetraploid, i.e. their cells have four copies of each chromosome, while spelt and bread wheat are hexaploid, i.e.  their cells have six copies of each chromosome. In general terms, it means that the chromosome composition of a diploid is simpler than that of the tetraploid and of the hexaploid.

Would you say that chromosomal changes in wheat altered the nutritional values in modern varieties and how?

I would say that striving for higher yielding wheats led to a loss of nutritional value in terms of several compounds such as proteins, antioxidants, trace minerals and fiber.

Help us understand why the farming yields in einkorn are so much lower than durum or soft wheat varieties.

Einkorn was neglected by mainstream agriculture for several thousand years. Therefore, its productivity was not improved. Remember that only 100 years ago bread wheat yield on average was 1000-1500 kg/ha: today levels of production (60.000-80.000 kg/ha in advanced agriculture) were achieved through the combined efforts of plant breeding and improved agricultural management (especially fertilization).

Why do think consumers should try einkorn products and how can they benefit from eating this grain?

A balanced diet, rich in cereals, vegetables and fruit, is important for the prevention of many chronic health risks. Cereals are the main source of calorie intake, but are also a major supply of proteins, antioxidants and trace minerals (e.g. Fe, Zn), that play relevant roles in disease prevention. Therefore, the healthy composition of nutrients in einkorn flours can contribute to improve the nutritional quality of cereal-derived foods. Furthermore, einkorn flour gives a peculiarly good taste to many manufactured foods.

Your research is extensive and has provided us with valuable information about this forgotten grain. Did you ever imagine that einkorn products would make their way to the shelves of American supermarkets and how does that make you feel today?

Well, when we discovered that einkorn had good nutritional properties, we thought that we could try to manufacture some products for human consumption, but our vision was limited to local markets and consumers. To see that einkorn made it all the way from odd, forgotten crop to new and valuable food in the highly competitive and demanding American market is a satisfying feeling- a dream that became true!

Andrea Brandolini, born in Bergamo, Italy, on December 23, 1960, received his “Laurea in Scienze Agrarie” in 1985 from the University of Milan and his Ph.D. in 1991 from the University of Reading, UK. From 1986 to 1990 he was a visiting geneticist at the International Potato Center, Lima, Peru, working on potato resistance to Alternaria solani and to the viruses PLRV, PVY e PVX. In 1992-3 was visiting post-doctoral scientist with Asgrow Seed Company, positioned in Oxford, Indiana (USA), and working on maize resistance to MDMV and MRDV viruses. From 1994 to 1996 had a post-doc studentship of the University of Milan to study cold stress resistance in Andean maize. From 1996 he is researcher at the Agricultural Research Council (CRA). He carries out breeding and genetic studies on A-genome wheats, using both traditional and innovative techniques; with Dr Hidalgo (DISTAM, University of Milan), he is also studying the technological and nutritional quality of different einkorns, as well as of einkorn-derived food products.

 Selected einkorn publications

• Hidalgo, A., Brandolini, A. 2008. Tocols stability during bread, water biscuit and pasta processing from wheat flours. Journal of Cereal Science 52: 254-259.
• Hidalgo, A., Brandolini, A., Pompei, C. 2010. Carotenoids evolution during pasta, bread and water biscuit preparation from wheat flours. Food Chemistry. 121: 746–751
• Brandolini, A., Hidalgo, A., Plizzari, L. 2010. Storage-induced changes in einkorn (Triticum monococcum L.) and breadwheat (Triticum aestivum L. ssp. aestivum) flours. Journal of Cereal Science. 51: 205-212
• Hidalgo, A., Brandolini, A., Ratti, S. 2009. Influence of genetic and environmental factors on selected nutritional traits of Triticum monococcum. J. Agric. Food Chem. 57: 6342-6348.
• Hidalgo, A., Brandolini, A., Pompei, C. 2009. Kinetics of tocols degradation during the storage of einkorn (Triticum monococcum L. ssp. monococcum) and breadwheat (Triticum aestivum L. ssp. aestivum) flours. Food Chemistry. 116: 821-827.
• Lavelli, V., Hidalgo, A., Pompei, C., Brandolini, A. 2009. Radical scavenging activity of einkorn (Triticum monococcum L. subsp. monococcum) wholemeal flour and its relationship to soluble phenolic and lipophilic antioxidant content. Journal of Cereal Science. 49: 319-321.
• Vaccino, P. Becker, H. A., Brandolini, A., Salamini, F., Kilian, B. 2009. A catalogue of Triticum monococcum genes encoding toxic and immunogenic peptides for celiac disease patients. Molecular Genetics and Genomics. 281: 289-300.
• Hidalgo, A.; Brandolini, A. 2008, Kinetics of carotenoids degradation during the storage of einkorn (Triticum monococcum L. ssp. monococcum) and breadwheat (Triticum aestivum L. ssp. aestivum) flours. J. Agric. Food Chem. 56: 11300-11305.
• Hidalgo A., Brandolini A., Gazza L. 2008. Influence of steaming treatment on chemical and technological characteristics of einkorn (Triticum monococcum L. ssp. monococcum) wholemeal flour. Food Chemistry. 111: 549-555.
• Brandolini A., A. Hidalgo, S. Moscaritolo. 2008. Chemical composition and pasting properties of einkorn (Triticum monococcum L. subsp. monococcum) whole meal flour. Journal of Cereal Science. 47:599-609
• Hidalgo A., Brandolini A., Pompei C., Piscozzi R. 2006. Carotenoids and tocols of einkorn wheat (Triticum monococcum ssp monococcum L.). Journal of Cereal Science, 44:182-193.
• Brandolini A., P. Vaccino, G. Boggini, H. Özkan, B. Kilian and F. Salamini. 2006. Quantification of genetic relationships among A genomes of wheats. Genome. 49:287-305.
• Taenzler B., R.F. Esposti, P. Vaccino, A. Brandolini, S. Effgen, M. Heun, R. Schäfer-Pregl, B. Borghi and F. Salamini. 2002. A molecular linkage map of Einkorn wheat: mapping of storage-protein and soft-glume genes and bread making QTLs. Genetical Research. 80:131-143.
• Salamini F., H. Özkan, A. Brandolini, R. Schäfer-Pregl and W. Martin. 2002. Genetics and geography of wild cereals domestication in the Near East. Nature Reviews Genetics. 3(6):429-441.