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Isolation and Identification of a Wheat Flour Compound Causing Sticky Dough¹

¹Contribution no. 98-434-J Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station, Manhattan, KS. ²Graduate research assistant and professor, Department of Grain Science and Industry, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS 66506. ³Corresponding author. E-mail: r_and_r@kansas.net Present address: R&R Research Services, Inc., 8831 Quail Lane, Manhattan, KS 66502.

Fractionation and reconstitution studies of a flour from 1B/1R wheat showed that the factor causing sticky dough was water soluble. In addition, these studies showed that enzymes and lipids in the flour were not responsible for producing sticky dough. Dialysis experiments showed that the active component was nondialyzable. Gel-filtration chromatography of the retentate fraction showed that the substance causing sticky dough contained both a carbohydrate and a UV-absorbing material. Treatment of the active fraction with base caused the fraction to lose its ability to cause stickiness. The UV-absorbing material and the carbohydrate fraction had to be covalently linked for the compound to be active. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry and HPLC analysis showed that the UV-absorbing moiety was predominantly trans-ferulic acid, and the carbohydrate part was a glucose polymer. The glucose polymer was not degraded by α-amylase but was degraded by lichenase, suggesting that the glucose polymer was a mixed-linkage β-glucan.