Cereal Chem 39:72 - 78.  |  VIEW ARTICLE

The Hilar Layer of White Corn.

D. Bradbury, M. J. Wolf, and R. J. Dimler. Copyright 1962 by the American Association of Cereal Chemists, Inc. 

The structure, color, and absorbance of the hilar layers of several hybrids and inbred lines of white corn were investigated. In many kernels the hilar layer appeared as a single band, but in others it showed a distinctly double nature. Observed in situ, after tip caps were broken off, hilar layers were light tan, brown, or almost black. Hilar layers were isolated by dissecting away other tissues after the kernel had been boiled for 65 minutes in a 0.5% aqueous solution of KOH. These layers varied in absorbance from 0.10 to 1.00. The absorbance was presumably affected by the concentration of pigments and by the thickness of the isolated hilar layer. Possible significance of the variability of the hilar layer to the corn dry-milling industry is pointed out.