How to elevate the shelf-life of minor grains rich in unsaturated fatty acids: From rancidity mechanism to stability strategies.

Abstract

Minor grains rich in unsaturated fatty acids are prone to rancidity during storage, which in turn affects their shelf life and nutritional quality. Currently, although continuously published studies have shown that different thermal and non-thermal technologies exhibited varying degrees of stabilization effects on minor grains, there is still no systematic summary, analysis, and discussion on their differentiated effects and the specific enzyme-inactivating mechanism. Therefore, there is a lack of an effective basis for selecting appropriate stabilization strategies for different minor grains. Herein, this review comprehensively dissects the rancidity mechanism of minor grains based on their fatty acid composition and oxidative rancidity-related enzymes. Subsequently, various stabilization technologies and their advantages and limitations are compared and critically discussed. Moreover, auxiliary preservation strategies are also summarized, which further strengthen the storage stability. This review contributes to a better understanding of how to prevent the rancidity of minor grains, thus facilitating their sustainable utilization.