Cereal Chem. 73 (4):495-498  |  VIEW ARTICLE

Milling

Change in Sulfhydryl-Disulfide Status of Wheat Proteins During Conditioning and Milling.

P. Gobin (1), M.-P. Duviau (1), J. H. Wong (2), B. B. Buchanan (2), and K. Kobrehel (1,3). (1) INRA, Laboratoire de Biochimie et Biologie Moléculaire des Céréales, Place Viala, 34060 Montpellier-Cedex 01, France. (2) Plant Biology, University of California, Berkeley, CA. (3) Corresponding author. Phone 67-61-23-88. Fax: 67-52-20-94. E-mail: <Kobrehel@ensam.inra.fr> Accepted April 8, 1996. Copyright 1996 by the American Association of Cereal Chemists, Inc. 

The sulfhydryl-disulfide status of wheat kernel proteins underwent modifications during the conditioning process performed before milling. Wheat conditioned 12 hr to a moisture content of 16% at room temperature resulted in a significant increase of available sulfhydryls in the proteins of all parts of the kernel: endosperm, embryo, and bran, including both metabolic and storage proteins of the endosperm. The sulfhydryl groups generated during conditioning remained reduced even after lengthy storage of the flour at 4°C. The results imply that the technological quality of wheat flour may be considerably influenced by the conditioning process used before milling, as well as by subsequent storage conditions.