Effect of Pre-Harvest Sprouting on Physicochemical Properties of Starch in Wheat

Senay Simsek; Jae-Bom Ohm; Haiyan Lu; Mory Rugg; William Berzonsky; Mohammed S Alamri; Mohamed Mergoum

doi:10.3390/foods3020194

Effect of Pre-Harvest Sprouting on Physicochemical Properties of Starch in Wheat

Foods. 2014 Apr 8;3(2):194-207. doi: 10.3390/foods3020194.

Authors

Senay Simsek¹, Jae-Bom Ohm², Haiyan Lu³, Mory Rugg⁴, William Berzonsky⁵, Mohammed S Alamri⁶, Mohamed Mergoum⁷

Affiliations

¹ Department of Plant Sciences, North Dakota State University, P.O. Box 6050, Department #7670, Fargo, ND 58108-6050, USA. senay.simsek@ndsu.edu.
² USDA-ARS Hard Red Spring and Durum Wheat Quality Laboratory, Harris Hall, North Dakota State University, Fargo, ND 58108, USA. jae.ohm@ars.usda.gov.
³ Department of Plant Sciences, North Dakota State University, P.O. Box 6050, Department #7670, Fargo, ND 58108-6050, USA. haiyan.lu22@outlook.com.
⁴ Department of Plant Sciences, North Dakota State University, P.O. Box 6050, Department #7670, Fargo, ND 58108-6050, USA. mory.O.P.Rugg@gmail.com.
⁵ Department of Plant Sciences, South Dakota State University, Brookings, SD 57007-2141, USA. bill.berzonsky@bayer.com.
⁶ Nutrition and Food Sciences Department, College of Food and Agricultural Sciences. msalamri@ksu.edu.sa.
⁷ Department of Plant Sciences, North Dakota State University, P.O. Box 6050, Department #7670, Fargo, ND 58108-6050, USA. mohamed.mergoum@ndsu.edu.

Abstract

Pre-harvest sprouting (PHS) in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) occurs when physiologically mature kernels begin germinating in the spike. The objective of this study was to provide fundamental information on physicochemical changes of starch due to PHS in Hard Red Spring (HRS) and Hard White Spring (HWS) wheat. The mean values of α-amylase activity of non-sprouted and sprouted wheat samples were 0.12 CU/g and 2.00 CU/g, respectively. Sprouted samples exhibited very low peak and final viscosities compared to non-sprouted wheat samples. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images showed that starch granules in sprouted samples were partially hydrolyzed. Based on High Performance Size Exclusion Chromatography (HPSEC) profiles, the starch from sprouted samples had relatively lower molecular weight than that of non-sprouted samples. Overall, high α-amylase activity caused changes to the physicochemical properties of the PHS damaged wheat.

Keywords: HPSEC; pre-harvest sprout; starch; wheat.