Cereal Chem 49:653 - 663.  |  VIEW ARTICLE
Rapid Determination of Germ Damage in Cereal Grains.

E. D. Weak, G. D. Miller, E. P. Farrell, and C. A. Watson. Copyright 1972 by the American Association of Cereal Chemists, Inc. 

The Christensen-Qasem bleaching method, used to reveal germ damage in wheat and corn, was studied for possible modification. Increasing the concentration of NaOCl to 6% made it easier to detect discolored germ. A bleaching-time study on wheat showed the pericarp sufficiently altered after 3 min. in hot bleach solution to show germ color readily. Modifications in the bleaching procedure were developed for rye, grain sorghum, oats, and barley. Grading-time studies with federal grain inspectors showed that the sum of processing and grading times for the modified bleaching method was significantly less than the grading time required with the present method. Germ-damage percentages shown by the modified and the current methods correlated significantly (r = 0.88, n = 87). Germination and glutamic acid decarboxylase activity for wheat and sorghum each correlated more highly with germ-damage percentage determined with bleached than with unbleached grain.