Effect of electrolyzed water on enzyme activities of triticale malt during germination.

ABSTRACT

Triticale malt can be used as a source of enzymes or as a raw material for the production of functional foods. In this study, triticale malt was produced by soaking triticale seeds either in tap water (TW) or slightly acidic electrolyzed water (SAEW) and then rinsing with TW, SAEW, or alkaline electrolyzed water (AEW). We determined the length of the hypocotyl of triticale malt and the activities of α-amylase, phytase, proteases, and lipase during 4 days of germination. The electrolyzed water (EW) treatments promoted the growth of triticale malt. On the 4th day of germination, the hypocotyl length of triticale malt soaked in TW and watered with SAEW was 24.57% longer than that of triticale malt soaked and watered with TW. The α-amylase, phytase, acidic protease, and lipase activities of triticale malt soaked in SAEW and watered with AEW were high on the 4th germination day (0.11, 1.24 × 10-4, 0.62, and 0.51 units/mg protein, respectively). The main finding of this study is that the use of EW, especially during the soaking procedure, may be a promising way to obtain triticale malt with high enzyme activity for use in the production of functional foods.