The aim of the thesis is to investigate the bioactive components of cereals, their impact on health and potential for their incorporation in functional foods by reviewing the literature. Functional foods are those that have beneficial physiological effect or reduced risk of chronic diseases compared to staple foods. Cereals contain many bioactive components that have a positive effect on health, sensory and technological properties, such as polyphenolic compounds, vitamins, dietary fiber and its functional components - arabinoxylans, β-glucan, and resistant starch. The listed bioactive components have antihypertensive, antimicrobial, prebiotic, probiotic, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory properties and reduce the incidence of cardiovascular diseases, type 2 diabetes, obesity and cancer. The listed bioactive components have a positive effect on the technological properties of foods, serving as stabilizers, thickeners, emulsifiers and fat substitutes. When included in a functional food, they enable the improvement of nutritional value, e.g., increased dietary fiber content or reduced fat content, and technological properties, e.g., improved product volume and texture, with minimal impact on its sensory value. Inappropriate, i.e., too large addition of cereal bioactive ingredients may result in a product with high viscosity, low volume, high strength, poor color and texture, and the appearance of undesirable taste and flavors.
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