Definition and research guide
This page combines a MeSH definition, publication statistics and selected research abstracts. It is a starting point for reading the literature, not a medical textbook or a systematic evidence review.
Content available: 4 complete abstracts (653 words), 10 references. Full article text is not stored or reproduced here; follow the PMID, DOI or PMC links to read the original sources and their access terms.
Definition
A powdery meal obtained from ground up starchy foodstuff, such as seeds of wheat; RICE and other edible grain; legumes; and NUTS; or ground up plant tubers.
Definition: NLM Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) scope note (Public domain (U.S. National Library of Medicine); attribution requested). View the MeSH record.
Also known as: Flours; Semolina Flour; Flour, Semolina; Flours, Semolina; Semolina Flours; Wheat Flour; Flours, Wheat; Flour, Wheat.
Where it fits in the MeSH classification
- Broader topics
- Food
Related concepts
- Wheat
- Edible Grain
- Legumes
- Plant Tubers
Research landscape
PubMed indexes 8,594 records tagged with the MeSH heading “Flour” (counts retrieved 2026-10-31). 3,141 of them (36.5%) were published from 2020 onward, and the busiest period so far is 2020 onward with 3,141 records.
Reviews account for 364 records (4.2%) and meta-analyses for 11. Randomized controlled trials number 216 (2.5%) as a share of all records on the topic.
Show the data
| Period | Records |
|---|---|
| through 1999 | 1,887 |
| 2000-2009 | 1,032 |
| 2010-2019 | 2,534 |
| 2020 onward | 3,141 |
Publication-type chart data
| Type | Records | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Reviews | 364 | 4.2% |
| Meta-analyses | 11 | 0.1% |
| Randomized controlled trials | 216 | 2.5% |
Method: PubMed query "Flour"[MeSH Terms] with publication-type and date filters, retrieved 2026-10-31.
Reading the evidence in anatomy and physiology
Anatomy describes how body structures are built and physiology describes how they normally work, so most findings here are descriptive or mechanistic rather than evidence about treatment. Much of what is known comes from dissection, imaging, tissue studies and experiments in animals, and measurements in healthy volunteers can differ from those in people with disease or at different ages. Normal ranges vary between individuals and populations. Check whether a result was measured in people or in another species, the age and health of the participants, and the method used.
Evidence from open-access studies
These open-access studies come from PubMed’s best-match results for this heading (papers whose main topic it is), ranked here by citation count, with one recent addition. Each abstract is reproduced in full under its recorded open licence so that you can read the authors’ own words. They illustrate the literature; they are not a systematic summary of it. Citation counts measure attention, not reliability or clinical benefit.
| Study / authors | Year | Source label / design | Europe PMC citations | Licence / source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cold plasma: A new technology to modify wheat flour functionality | 2016 | Research article Design not recorded in structured metadata | 83 | cc by PMID 26920291 · DOI · PMC4778607 |
| Quantitation of the immunodominant 33-mer peptide from α-gliadin in wheat flours by liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry | 2017 | Research article Design not recorded in structured metadata | 59 | cc by PMID 28327674 · DOI · PMC5361186 |
| Metabolic engineering of bread wheat improves grain iron concentration and bioavailability | 2019 | Research article Design not recorded in structured metadata | 51 | cc by PMID 30623558 · DOI · PMC6662306 |
| Reflections on How Wheat Flour Lipids Impact the Viscoelastic Properties of Gluten Proteins | 2026 | Review article Design not recorded in structured metadata | 5 | cc by PMID 41532727 · DOI · PMC12802389 |
Cold plasma: A new technology to modify wheat flour functionality [1]
Abstract reading summary — source excerpts
- Opening excerpt
- Atmospheric pressure cold plasma has the potential to modify biological chemistry and modulate physical surface properties.
- Closing excerpt
- This study confirms the potential of cold plasma as a tool to modify flour functionality.
- Interpretation limits
- Verbatim excerpts from the authors’ abstract; the closing excerpt may describe a finding, limitation or recommendation. Design, population, effect size and uncertainty have not been independently extracted or appraised. Read the complete abstract and linked paper before interpreting the findings.
Read complete abstract (147 words)
Atmospheric pressure cold plasma has the potential to modify biological chemistry and modulate physical surface properties. Wheat flour was treated by low levels of cold plasma (air, 15V and 20V) for 60 or 120s. There was no change in the total aerobic bacterial count or total mould count as a result of treatment. Treatment did not impact the concentration of total non-starch lipids, or non-polar and glycolipids. However, treatment did reduce total free fatty acids and phospholipids and was dose dependent. Oxidation markers (hydroperoxide value and head space n-hexanal) increased with treatment time and voltage, which confirmed the acceleration of lipid oxidation. Total proteins were not significantly influenced by treatment although there was a trend towards higher molecular weight fractions which indicated protein oxidation and treated flour did produce a stronger dough. This study confirms the potential of cold plasma as a tool to modify flour functionality.
Abstract reproduced from the open-access article under the recorded cc by licence; © the authors. PMID 26920291 · DOI · PMC4778607
Quantitation of the immunodominant 33-mer peptide from α-gliadin in wheat flours by liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry [2]
Abstract reading summary — source excerpts
- Opening excerpt
- Coeliac disease (CD) is triggered by the ingestion of gluten proteins from wheat, rye, and barley.
- Closing excerpt
- Due to the presence of the 33-mer in all common wheat and spelt flours analysed here, the special focus in the literature on this most immunodominant peptide seems to be justified.
- Interpretation limits
- Verbatim excerpts from the authors’ abstract; the closing excerpt may describe a finding, limitation or recommendation. Design, population, effect size and uncertainty have not been independently extracted or appraised. Read the complete abstract and linked paper before interpreting the findings.
Read complete abstract (194 words)
Coeliac disease (CD) is triggered by the ingestion of gluten proteins from wheat, rye, and barley. The 33-mer peptide from α2-gliadin has frequently been described as the most important CD-immunogenic sequence within gluten. However, from more than 890 published amino acid sequences of α-gliadins, only 19 sequences contain the 33-mer. In order to make a precise assessment of the importance of the 33-mer, it is necessary to elucidate which wheat species and cultivars contain the peptide and at which concentrations. This paper presents the development of a stable isotope dilution assay followed by liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry to quantitate the 33-mer in flours of 23 hexaploid modern and 15 old common (bread) wheat as well as two spelt cultivars. All flours contained the 33-mer peptide at levels ranging from 91-603 μg/g flour. In contrast, the 33-mer was absent (<limit of detection) from tetra- and diploid species (durum wheat, emmer, einkorn), most likely because of the absence of the D-genome, which encodes α2-gliadins. Due to the presence of the 33-mer in all common wheat and spelt flours analysed here, the special focus in the literature on this most immunodominant peptide seems to be justified.
Abstract reproduced from the open-access article under the recorded cc by licence; © the authors. PMID 28327674 · DOI · PMC5361186
Metabolic engineering of bread wheat improves grain iron concentration and bioavailability [3]
Abstract reading summary — source excerpts
- Opening excerpt
- Bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.
- Closing excerpt
- Iron bioavailability was increased in white flour milled from field-grown CE-OsNAS2 grain and positively correlated with NA and DMA concentrations.
- Interpretation limits
- Verbatim excerpts from the authors’ abstract; the closing excerpt may describe a finding, limitation or recommendation. Design, population, effect size and uncertainty have not been independently extracted or appraised. Read the complete abstract and linked paper before interpreting the findings.
Read complete abstract (169 words)
Bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) is cultivated on more land than any other crop and produces a fifth of the calories consumed by humans. Wheat endosperm is rich in starch yet contains low concentrations of dietary iron (Fe) and zinc (Zn). Biofortification is a micronutrient intervention aimed at increasing the density and bioavailability of essential vitamins and minerals in staple crops; Fe biofortification of wheat has proved challenging. In this study we employed constitutive expression (CE) of the rice (Oryza sativa L.) nicotianamine synthase 2 (OsNAS2) gene in bread wheat to up-regulate biosynthesis of two low molecular weight metal chelators - nicotianamine (NA) and 2'-deoxymugineic acid (DMA) - that play key roles in metal transport and nutrition. The CE-OsNAS2 plants accumulated higher concentrations of grain Fe, Zn, NA and DMA and synchrotron X-ray fluorescence microscopy (XFM) revealed enhanced localization of Fe and Zn in endosperm and crease tissues, respectively. Iron bioavailability was increased in white flour milled from field-grown CE-OsNAS2 grain and positively correlated with NA and DMA concentrations.
Abstract reproduced from the open-access article under the recorded cc by licence; © the authors. PMID 30623558 · DOI · PMC6662306
Reflections on How Wheat Flour Lipids Impact the Viscoelastic Properties of Gluten Proteins [4]
Abstract reading summary — source excerpts
- Opening excerpt
- Endogenous wheat flour lipids are known to play an important role in baked product quality, even though they constitute a minor fraction of wheat flour composition.
- Closing excerpt
- The aim of this review is to bring an in-depth evaluation of how the interactions between the endogenous wheat flour lipids and gluten proteins affect the mechanical properties of the gluten network.
- Interpretation limits
- Verbatim excerpts from the authors’ abstract; the closing excerpt may describe a finding, limitation or recommendation. Design, population, effect size and uncertainty have not been independently extracted or appraised. Read the complete abstract and linked paper before interpreting the findings.
Read complete abstract (143 words)
Endogenous wheat flour lipids are known to play an important role in baked product quality, even though they constitute a minor fraction of wheat flour composition. They interact with gluten proteins throughout the different stages of dough processing and therefore contribute to specific quality traits in baked products. Polar non-starch lipids interact with gliadins, whereas both polar and nonpolar non-starch lipids interact with glutenins. These interactions control the hydration dynamics of the gluten proteins during mixing, contribute to the gluten network strength, prevent coalescence of the gas cells during fermentation, and affect the gluten denaturation and starch gelatinization temperatures during baking. The chemical backgrounds of these interactions have been of interest. The aim of this review is to bring an in-depth evaluation of how the interactions between the endogenous wheat flour lipids and gluten proteins affect the mechanical properties of the gluten network.
Abstract reproduced from the open-access article under the recorded cc by licence; © the authors. PMID 41532727 · DOI · PMC12802389
Key reviews and meta-analyses
The most cited review-type papers among PubMed’s best-match results for this heading, listed with bibliographic details only. Follow the links for the full text and access terms.
- Research article Microbial ecology of sourdough fermentations: diverse or uniform? [5]
- Research article Enzymatic and bacterial conversions during sourdough fermentation [6]
- Research article How the sourdough may affect the functional features of leavened baked goods [7]
- Research article Baker's asthma [8]
- Research article The role of wheat flour constituents, sugar, and fat in low moisture cereal based products: a review on sugar-snap cookies [9]
- Research article Fortification of flour with folic acid [10]
References
- Bahrami N, Bayliss D, Chope G, Penson S, Perehinec T, Fisk ID. Cold plasma: A new technology to modify wheat flour functionality. . 2016. PMID 26920291 · DOI · PMC4778607
- Schalk K, Lang C, Wieser H, Koehler P, Scherf KA. Quantitation of the immunodominant 33-mer peptide from α-gliadin in wheat flours by liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry. . 2017. PMID 28327674 · DOI · PMC5361186
- Beasley JT, Bonneau JP, Sánchez-Palacios JT, Moreno-Moyano LT, Callahan DL, Tako E, et al.. Metabolic engineering of bread wheat improves grain iron concentration and bioavailability. . 2019. PMID 30623558 · DOI · PMC6662306
- Yazar G, Kokini JL. Reflections on How Wheat Flour Lipids Impact the Viscoelastic Properties of Gluten Proteins. . 2026. PMID 41532727 · DOI · PMC12802389
- De Vuyst L, Van Kerrebroeck S, Harth H, Huys G, Daniel HM, Weckx S. Microbial ecology of sourdough fermentations: diverse or uniform?. Food Microbiol. 2014. PMID 24230469 · DOI
- Gänzle MG. Enzymatic and bacterial conversions during sourdough fermentation. Food Microbiol. 2014. PMID 24230468 · DOI
- Gobbetti M, Rizzello CG, Di Cagno R, De Angelis M. How the sourdough may affect the functional features of leavened baked goods. Food Microbiol. 2014. PMID 24230470 · DOI
- Brisman J. Baker's asthma. Occup Environ Med. 2002. PMID 12107305 · DOI · PMC1740310
- Pareyt B, Delcour JA. The role of wheat flour constituents, sugar, and fat in low moisture cereal based products: a review on sugar-snap cookies. Crit Rev Food Sci Nutr. 2008. PMID 18788008 · DOI
- Berry RJ, Bailey L, Mulinare J, Bower C, Folic Acid Working Group. Fortification of flour with folic acid. Food Nutr Bull. 2010. PMID 20629350 · DOI
About this article
- Sources
- NLM Medical Subject Headings (definition, synonyms); NCBI PubMed (counts, identifiers); Europe PMC (open-access abstracts and citation counts).
- Verification
- Every reference was resolved against PubMed on 2026-10-31; title, year and DOI matched.
- Review state
- automated source verified; no human expert review has been recorded yet.
- Version
- 1, last updated 2026-10-31.
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Evidence strength
EvidenceHelix's computed view of the study designs behind this topic: how common meta-analyses, randomized trials and reviews are, how recent the literature is, and a plain-language reading. It describes the design mix of the literature. It is not a quality appraisal of any study, and it is not medical advice.