Cereal Chem 38:133 - 139.  |  VIEW ARTICLE

Histochemical Characterization of Wheat and Wheat Products. V. Sulfhydryl Groups: Their Localization in the Wheat Kernel.

Y. Pomeranz and J. A. Shellenberger. Copyright 1961 by the American Association of Cereal Chemists, Inc. 

The method of Barrnett and Seligman for histochemical visualization of protein-bound -SH groups in animal tissue cells has been applied to localize sulfhydryl groups in the wheat kernel. Wheat sections, fixed in 2% trichloroacetic acid in ethanol, were reacted with a buffered solution of 2,2'-dihydroxy-6,6'- dinaphthyl disulfide. The colorless, insoluble oxidation product was monoazotized to form a colored violet dye at sites of protein- bound sulfhydryls. Major sites of -SH groups were the aleurone layer and the germ. The histochemical method was specific and inhibited by oxidizing or -SH-blocking reagents.