Cereal Chem 52:620 - 628.  |  VIEW ARTICLE
Distribution of Minerals in Barley at the Cellular Level by X-Ray Analysis.

D. J. Liu and Y. Pomeranz. Copyright 1975 by the American Association of Cereal Chemists, Inc. 

Distribution of minerals in the barley caryopsis was determined with an X-ray analyzer attached to a scanning electron microscope by three techniques: spot analyses; X-ray image profiles; and line-scan profiles. Silicon was concentrated on the surface and the outer part of the lemma. Calcium and P were higher in the inner, than in the outer, layer of the lemma. The two main mineral components in the pericarp were K and Ca. Mineral composition of cell walls in the aleurone and starchy endosperm was similar. Presence of S in the cell walls is indicated. Aleurone grains were richest, among studied barley tissues, in K, P, Mg, and Ca. Concentration of K in the subaleurone layer was higher than in the center of the starchy endosperm.