Congratulations Jervee

Congratulations to Jervee Punzalan on the publication of our latest paper in Food Chemistry. This work represents an important contribution to understanding how germination conditions influence the structure and digestibility of oat proteins.

Full citation:

Bagarinao, N. C.; Punzalan, J.; King, J.; Leong, S. Y.; Agyei, D.; Gordon, K.; Sutton, K.; Oey, I. Effects of germination temperature on physicochemical properties and in vitro protein digestibility of oat flour (Avena sativa). Food Chemistry 2026, 506, 148174

The study combines compositional analysis with mid-infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy to reveal how germination drives molecular-level changes in oat proteins. Spectroscopic analysis showed clear shifts in protein secondary structure from more ordered conformations toward less ordered, more hydrated structures, alongside changes in lipid and carbohydrate signatures that reflect matrix reorganization during germination. These structural modifications were closely associated with enhanced gastric-phase protein digestibility, particularly for oats germinated at 25 °C.