Cereal Chem 62:22-25   |  VIEW ARTICLE
Effect of Phytate, pH, and Acid Treatment on the Falling Number of Sound and Weathered Wheats.

J. S. Noll. Copyright 1985 by the American Association of Cereal Chemists, Inc. 

Phytic acid and sodium phytate affected the falling number by altering the slurry pH rather than through chemical interactions. A 25-min pretreatment with 0.14N HC1 appeared to inactivate the endogenous alpha- amylases, thereby improving the starch-pasting properties of the weathered samples. However, addition of exogenous alpha-amylase to the neutralized acid-treated samples reversed this improvement as shown by falling number analysis.