A study of the starch-digesting and sugar-forming enzymes of wheat

An amyloclastic enzyme solution and a saccharogenic enzyme solution has been prepared from wheat extract by a method similar to that used by Ohlsson for malt extract;A solid amyloclastic enzyme with low sugar-forming power has been prepared by heating wheat extract for fifteen minutes at 70° and fractionally precipitating with alcohol;A solid saccharogenic enzyme has been prepared from wheat extract by bringing the hydrogen ion concentration to a pH of 3.3 and then adjusting it to a pH of 6.0, and finally precipitating with alcohol. The solid enzyme showed an unusually high sugar-forming power and low amyloclastic power;The optimum hydrogen ion concentration for the amyloclastic activity of wheat amylase has been found to be at a pH 4.6 to 6.3. The range of hydrogen ion concentration has been obtained by varying the relative amounts of sodium dihydrogen phosphate and disodium hydrogen phosphate, thus keeping the total phosphate concentration constant. The optimum hydrogen ion concentration for saccharogenic activity has been determined by the method just indicated and found to be at a pH 4.9 to 5.3