THE USE OF PESTICIDES IN MALTINGS,BREWERIES AND DISTILLERIES APRIL 1974 - MARCH 1975

A survey of the use of pesticides in maltings, breweries and distilleries during the period April 1974 to March 1975 was made by the Pesticides Survey Group at the Ministry of Agriculture's Pest Infestation Control Laboratory at Slough in collaboration with the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries for Scotland. A breakdown of the insecticides and rodenticides used, including quantities and numbers of users, is given. The results show that in most cases, the official recommended measures to control pests are being followed.     

Enzymic degradation and nature of the endosperm cell walls of germinating sorghums and barley

β-(1·3)(1·4)-Glucans are the major components of isolated endosperm cell walls of both sorghum and barley grains and the concentration declines from 75% in unmalted barley walls to 32% in those of the 6-day malts. In sorghums over the same period, the reduction was from 72 and 68% to 54 and 62% in varieties L187 and SK5912, respectively. Following germination wall pentosans, while enhanced in barley, decreased in sorghum. The enzymes which were unable to hydrolyse the walls of sorghum to release sugars (unlike those of barley) did so after the walls had been solubilised in alkali. Cellobiose accounted for 43% of the hydrolysates of the alkali-solubilised walls when incubated with sorghum malt enzymes and 79% when barley enzymes were used. Laminaribiose was not detected in either case which indicates that the polysaccharide of the sorghum walls is largely of a ‘cellulosic’ nature. Preliminary evidence suggests that fuco-xyloglucan may contribute to the resistance of the sorghum endosperm cell walls to enzymic attack during germination.     

SOME BARLEY GRAIN AND GREEN MALT PROPERTIES AND THEIR INFLUENCE ON MALT HOT-WATER EXTRACT: II. PROTEIN,PROTEINASE AND MOISTURE

This paper continues the study of variation between varieties in some properties of barley and malt and examines protein-related characters and moisture uptake. Initial rate of moisture uptake was more closely related to enzyme activities than maximum moisture content. Significant varietal variation was found in all characters and this variation was greater than environmental variation with the exception of grain nitrogen concentration. In the endosperm endopeptidase activity was the character most highly correlated with malt hot water extract (HWE). The combined influence of protein- and β-glucan-related characters was investigated and the relative influence of each group of characters on HWE varied in different sections of the grain. In the endosperm the protein- and β-glucan-related characters accounted for 30% and 60% of the variation in HWE respectively.     

VARIETAL IDENTIFICATION OF BARLEY AND MALT*

A vertical polyacrylamide — SDS electrophoretic technique, including whole protein extraction and staining steps, was improved with a view to developing it for routine laboratory use with single barley kernels. The pattern consisted of 4 zones: A (albumins-globulins). B and C (hordeins) and D (possibly glutelins) displaying unequal varietal polymorphisms (1, 13, 13 and 4 types respectively). 28% of the barley samples (77 varieties), including most cultivars grown in France, could be unambiguously identified from qualitative differences only, in the B, C and D zones. Adding three other characteristics (hairs and furrow hairiness, peroxidase, zymogram, esterase zymogram), as many as 78% of the varieties could be identified, the other 22% consisting of very closely related barleys. After slight modification of protein extraction conditions, the same methods could be used with malt, based on the same electrophoretic types. A graphic tablet connected to a microcomputer was used for automatic acquisitions of records and comparisons of electrophoretic data.     

EVALUATION OF MALTING QUALITY IN A BARLEY BREEDING PROGRAMME USE OF α-AMYLASE AND β-GLUCAN LEVLES IN MALT AS PRESELECTION TOOLS

Analysis according to the EBC protocol, immunological determination of a α-amylase and estimation of malt β-glucan using the Calcofluor-FIA method, were used to screen 327 barley breeding lines for malting quality. The results obtained with the α-amylase and β-glucan methods are highly correlated to the important malt quality paramters: extract yield and β-glucan content in the wort. It is recommended that either of the two methods, which are simple to perform are used as prescreening tools in breeding programmes for malting barley.     

STARCH DEGRADATION IN ENDOSPERMS OF DEVELOPING BARLEY KERNELS*

Shortly after anthesis, empty endosperm cells adjacent to the embryo were crushed between the developing embryo and endosperm tissues to form the crushed cell layer. Starch granules in cells adjacent to this layer were hydrolysed and the empty cells were added to the crushed layer. In this way, the crushed layer increased in thickness throughout kernel development. α-Amylase 2 was detected in the crushed cell layer region of barley endosperms during the period that starch granule hydrolysis was occurring.     

Degradation of organophosphorus pesticides in aqueous extracts of young green barley leaves (Hordeum vulgare L)

The degradation of the organophosphorus pesticides malathion, chlorpyrifos, guthion, diazinon, methidathion and parathion in an aqueous extract of young green barley leaves (Hordeum vulgare L) was monitored by gas chromatography. Aqueous solutions of various amounts of freeze‐dried young barley leaves containing 5.75 mg l⁻¹ of malathion were incubated at 37 °C and pH 7.4 over prolonged time periods. Over 95% of the malathion degraded in 4 h in a 3% (30 g l⁻¹) solution of young green barley leaves. When the barley solution was autoclaved at 120 °C for 25 min prior to the addition of malathion, no degradation of malathion was observed. When 10 mg l⁻¹ each of the above six pesticides was incubated in a 15% (150 g l⁻¹) solution of young green barley leaves for 3 h at 37 °C and pH 7.4, malathion and chlorpyrifos degraded 100%, whereas parathion (75%), diazinon (54%), guthion (41%) and methidathion (23%) showed lesser degrees of degradation. © 1999 Society of Chemical Industry     

啤酒大麦和麦芽微生物对啤酒质量的影响

叙述了啤酒大麦和麦芽微生物对啤酒质量的影响,同时讨论了其对人类健康的影响。     

THE UPTAKE OF GIBBERELLIC ACID BY ABRADED BARLEY

The view that abrasion of barley allows gibberellic acid to enter the grain at the distal end by rupturing the pericarp is re-examined. Cumulative evidence is presented that once gibberellic acid has access to the pericarp surface, it can enter the grain and α-amylase is released. Hence, the abrading process is effective simply by removal of husk.     

ORIGIN OF A DOMINANT BEER PROTEIN IMMUNOCHEMICAL IDENTITY WITH A β-AMYLASE-ASSOCIATED PROTEIN FROM BARLEY

Two-dimensional immunoelectrophoretic techniques were used to elucidate the origin of a dominant beer antigen 1. Immunochemical identity was found between a protein Z associated with β-amylase in extracts of barley and one form of the beer antigen 1a. Immunochemical identity was also found between a papain-modified form of protein Z and the antigen form 1b from beer. The results indicate that protein Z is very resistant to degradation and denaturation during malting and brewing.