Comparison of Polyphenol Oxidase Activities in Wheats and Flours from Australian and U.S. Cultivars

Polyphenol oxidase (PPO) activities of wheats from various classes and cultivars (grown both in the U.S.A. and in Australia), of some U.S. and Australian wheats, of wheat flours at various extraction rates and of kernels separated by size from various cultivars were measured by the oxygen electrode method. PPO activity of wheats was affected by both cultivar and growing location. Wheat flour contained on the average 3% of the PPO of the wheat grain. PPO activities of the flours increased as the flour extraction rates increased. Contrary to expectation, for a single cultivar, small kernels contained less PPO (on a weight basis and especially on a kernel basis) than did large kernels. Differences among kernels of various sizes for a single cultivar were smaller than differences in PPO among kernels of comparable sizes among various cultivars.