**2. Methodology**

**1. Introduction**

330 Wheat Improvement, Management and Utilization

tent of mycotoxins will be high.

*Fusarium* head blight (FHB) is a fungal disease of small grain cereals caused by pathogen fungi *Fusarium* spp. and has become a serious danger to the worldwide grain industry. Under favourable weather conditions (moist, warm conditions during flowering), the *Fusarium* spores are spread by wind to cereal spikelet, and then, infection expands within the whole ears. This infection can result in the yield loss and reduction of end-use quality [1]. The most important *Fusarium* species is *Fusarium graminearum* that destroys starch granules, storage proteins, and cell walls and subsequently affects the quality of dough properties [2]. FHB also leads to the accumulation of mycotoxins, which are very stable low-molecular secondary metabolites produced during the fungal infection process [3]. Despite the contradictory reports in the literature concerning the close correlations between FHB and mycotoxins content, it is accepted that overall accumulation of mycotoxins in kernel also would require successful infection and colonization stages of host [4]. Moreover, in the case of very strong infectious pressure, induced by artificial inoculation, it is possible to presume that also con-

The largest group of *Fusarium* mycotoxins is composed of trichothecenes, which are divided into four groups (types A–D) according to their characteristic functional groups, being the types A and B, the most common. Type A is represented by HT-2 toxin (HT-2) and T-2 toxin (T2), while type B includes nivalenol (NIV), deoxynivalenol (DON), fusarenon-X (FUS-X), 15-acetyldeoxynivalenol (15-AcDON), and 3-acetyldeoxynivalenol (3-AcDON), but the most important is DON. Zearalenones (ZONs)—oestrogenic mycotoxins—cover ZON and its

Regarding huge consumption of cereal product understanding of *Fusarium* infestation impacts not only on health but also on grain properties is essential. The negative effects on baking quality of wheat were already found [6, 7]. Knowledge of the rheological properties of flour is fundamental for specifying baking parameters. Different rheological analyses, for example, farinograph, extensograph, amylograph, or mixograph, are used to evaluate baking properties of cereals [8]. However, these methods evaluate only protein or starch characteristics so lately, the new apparatus Mixolab has been developed and was accepted as the International Association for Cereal Science and Technology (ICC) standard method N°173. This system enables to evaluate physical dough properties such as dough stability or weakening and starch characteristics in one measurement by intense mixing and controlled heating of the kneader to 90°C and ensuing cooling to 50°C [9]. Important researches of predicting the bread and cookie baking quality of different wheat flours were carried out [10, 11]. Reports of efficiency of Mixolab to predict baking quality of various wheat genotypes are verified by significant correlation between some Mixolab and rheo-

logical parameters, for example, Zeleny sedimentation and loaf volume [12, 13].

By this time, there are not many studies about a capability of Mixolab to predict rheological parameters of common wheat with various grade of fungi infestation [6]; studies about a capability of Mixolab to predict rheological parameters of other wheat species with various

metabolites: a-zearalenol (a-ZOL) and b-zearalenol (b-ZOL) [5].

grade of fungi infestation are almost not available.
