Influence of drying temperature on the wet-milling performance and the proteins solubility indexes of corn kernels

The effects of air drying temperature on the wet-milling performance and the proteins solubility indexes were investigated for corn kernels dried between 54 degrees C and 130 degrees C. It was observed that when the drying temperature increases, the starch yield drops significantly. The gluten recovered increased abruptly for drying temperatures up to 80 degrees C. The albumin, globulin and zein solubility indexes decreased continuously when corn drying temperatures increased. According to the temperatures used, the starch yield, the gluten recovered and the salt-soluble proteins solubility indexes were adjusted satisfactorily by using a two asymptotic logistic model. This model has the advantage of supplying information on the dynamic of the variation of described parameters. The solubility index of total salt-soluble proteins was shown to be a suitable indicator of the severity of the drying treatment in regard to the corn wet-milling performance. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.