Life Sciences Commons^™

Structural Characteristics Of Pennisetum Americanum (Pearl Millet) Using Scanning Electron And Fluorescence Microscopy, C. M. Mcdonough, L. W. Rooney

Food Structure

Fluorescence bright field and scanning electron microscopy were used to characterize the structure of selected mature pearl millet caryopses from the World Germplasm Collection. Kernel shape (globose, lanceolate, obovate and hexagonal). kernel endosperm color (while. yellow and grey) and external appearance (color) of the samples were documented for 96 varieties. Color of the pearl millet kernel was due to the combined effects of pigmentation in the pericarp. aleurone and endosperm. as well as the pericarp thickness. White kernels had few pigmented areas. yellow kernels had pigments primarily in the epicarp and endosperm. and brown kernels had pigments in the epicarp. …

Grittiness In A Pasteurized Cheese Spread: A Microscopic Study, H. W. Modler, S. H. Yiu, U. K. Bollinger, M. Kalab

Food Structure

Coagulation of pasteurized (63 C for 30 min) milk and blending of the resulting curd with high-fat cream followed by heat treatment (44 to 80 C for 10 min) of the blend in preparation of a hot-pack cheese spread led to the formation of a gritty product. Microscopic examination of hard particles causing the grittiness indicated that they consisted of compacted protein. Staining for calcium failed to detect any elevated concentration of this element in the particles. They were amorphous and contained no crystalline structures.

Encapsulation of the gritty curd in agar gel tubes made it possible to freeze-fracture the …

Fluorescence Microscopy Studies On (1,3) - B-D-Glucan In Barley Endosperm, A. W. Macgregor, G. M. Ballance, L. Dushnicky

Food Structure

Development of (1,3;1,4)-B-D-glucan and (1,3)-B-D-glucan in kernels of Himalaya and Bonanza barley has been followed by fluorescence microscopy using calcofluor and aniline blue fluorochromes. Specific enzymes were used to confirm the identity of these two polysaccharides in sections of endosperm tissue. All barley lines tested contained both types of B-glucan but (1,3;1,4)-B-glucan was synthesized at an earlier stage of development than was (1,3)-BGlucan. Small bead-like deposits of (1,3)-B-glucan were detected in all cultivars examined. These deposits were present throughout the endosperm and appeared to be associated with the inner walls of endosperm cells. After treatment of sections with (1,3)-B-glucanase, these …