Advancing the science of wheat quality evaluation using nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and ultrasound-based techniques

Background and objectives: The need for cost-effective, fast, and reliable techniques to evaluate wheat protein content and quality has led to the modification of available methods as well as the development of new methods. This review provides information on two emerging methods, that is, low-field nuclear magnetic resonance (LF-NMR) and low-intensity ultrasound, with potential for evaluating wheat protein content and quality. Findings: New techniques with additional capabilities have been developed over the years to provide wheat researchers with information that could not be acquired by the use of conventional methods. LF-NMR and low-intensity ultrasound are two emerging techniques in the world of cereal science whose speed, ease of operation, and reliability could promote their applications to wheat screening research studies. This review of these two potential wheat protein quality evaluation methods highlights the necessity of developing such cutting-edge tools which are advantageous over the conventional tools. Conclusions: Easy-to-use LF-NMR and low-intensity ultrasound seem to have the potential to provide nondestructive, fast evaluation methods that are superior to the currently used techniques in terms of accuracy and cost, respectively. However, further investigations to achieve complete development of such methods are still required. Significance and novelty: The potential of LF-NMR and low-intensity ultrasound as fast, accurate, and cost-effective wheat screening tools was confirmed through critical discussions and comparisons of a variety of most widely used wheat quality evaluation techniques.