Relationship Between Starch Granule Size Distribution and Selected Malting Parameters

The relationship between malting parameters and the ratio of large and small starch granules was studied in the endosperm of caryopses of 12 varieties of spring and winter barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) of Czech, German, and British origin. Starch granule size distribution was measured using two principally different methods, low-angle laser light scattering (LALLS) and gravitational field-flow fractionation (GFFF), over a 3-year period. An increase in a large starch granule fraction in the nonmalted caryopses of spring barley varieties studied was accompanied by a statistically significant decline in the values of extract, saccharide extract, relative extract at 45°C, Kolbach index, modification (Carlsberg method), wort color, starch content, and β-glucans in nonmalted caryopses. The higher ratio of large starch granules in two-and six-row winter varieties was not used in creation of extract, probably due to a lower activity of cytolytic and proteolytic enzymes. However, statistical correlations found between the studied malting parameters and starch granule size distributions were rather low. Statistically highly significant effects of varieties and variety-year interactions on large and small starch granules were determined.