Production and characterisation of two wheat-bran fractions: an aleurone-rich and a pericarp-rich fraction

Wheat bran is a good source of dietary fibre in the form of cell walls, but contains a number of different cell types. We describe a large-scale procedure for the production of an aleurone-rich and a pericarp-rich fraction from hard, Australian wheat. The fractions were characterised by field-emission scanning electron microscopy, by using a range of bright-field stains, colour reagents, and fluorochromes, and by chemical analysis of the walls. The aleurone fraction included the seed coat with its cuticle. Only the pericarp walls showed a histochemical reaction for lignin. The concentrations of esterlinked ferulic acid and (1 -> 3),(1 -> 4)-beta-glucans were greater in the aleurone-rich fraction than in the pericarp-rich fraction. The results are consistent with the arabinoxylans in the walls of the pericarp-rich fraction being more highly substituted with arabinose than those in the walls of the aleurone-rich fraction. When the fractions were fed as a dietary supplement to rats and walls were isolated from the faeces, it was found that the pericarp walls were not degraded, but the aleurone walls were partially degraded.