Wheat-kernel-associated endoxylanases consist of a majority of microbial and a minority of wheat endogenous endoxylanases

The endoxylanases associated with wheat kernels consist of wheat endogenous endoxylanases on one hand and kernel-associated microbial endoxylanases on the other hand. Assessment of their presence, based on analysis of their enzymic activity, can be expected to be hampered by the presence in wheat of high levels of endogenous endoxylanase inhibitors, which are able to inhibit the wheat-kernel-associated microbial endoxylanases. On the basis of preliminary experiments aimed at clarifying the distribution of the wheat-associated endoxylanases, a method to estimate total endoxylanase activities in wheat kernels was developed. Extensive washing of wheat kernels with universal buffer of pH 8.0 provided near-quantitative separation of the microbial endoxylanases located on the surface of wheat kernels from the endogenous endoxylanases and endoxylanase inhibitors located in such kernels. The microbial or endogenous nature of the endoxylanases was confirmed by making use of the inhibition specificity of endoxylanase inhibitors. Determination of the endoxylanase activity in the washing liquid, corresponding to the microbial endoxylanase population, and the washed kernels, corresponding to the endogenous endoxylanase population, allowed estimation of the total endoxylanase activities associated with the wheat kernel. Results showed that microbial endoxylanases can account for over 90% of the total wheat-associated endoxylanase activity and that the latter can be at least 5 times higher than the apparent endoxylanase activity.