Cereal Chem 49:664 - 676.  |  VIEW ARTICLE
Changes in Carbohydrate Components During Wheat Maturation. I. Changes in Free Sugars.

M. Abou-Guendia and B. L. D'Appolonia. Copyright 1972 by the American Association of Cereal Chemists, Inc. 

Test weight and 1,000-kernel weight increased in hard red spring and durum wheats as the wheat matured and as the original moisture decreased. Reducing and nonreducing sugars in the whole wheat, flour, or semolina decreased as the sample matured. The amount of nonreducing sugars was higher than the amount of reducing sugars at any stage of maturity. The bran, in all cases, contained higher amounts of both reducing and nonreducing sugars than did the corresponding flour or semolina. The total sugar content in the bran, likewise, decreased with maturation of the kernel. Significant correlations were obtained when either reducing or nonreducing sugars in the whole wheat were correlated with percent original moisture and 1,000-kernel weight, respectively. Ion-exchange chromatography revealed that at the early stages of maturity, fructose, sucrose, and glucose were the principal predominant simple sugars in the flour extract. The amount of fructose present in flour or semolina decreased markedly as the grain matured. The glucose content also decreased. Raffinose, a trisaccharide, was detected only at the later stages of development. Small changes were noticeable in maltose content in the flour or semolina at the different levels of maturity. The amount of sucrose initially increased in content and later decreased. The changes in fructose, glucose, sucrose, and raffinose paralleled the changes in reducing and nonreducing sugars, which in turn paralleled the changes in the moisture content of the endosperm during the stages of maturity.