Minor Wheat Protein Fractions Analysis by Using Capillary Zone Electrophoresis

The wheat proteins soluble in chloroform-methanol mixtures are associated with several kinds of food allergies. A separation method based on capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE) with UV detection was developed for the analysis of these mixtures. An acidic phosphoric acid/β-alanine (pH 2.5) buffer containing HPMC, urea and acetonitrile was used for the separation. The capillary electrophoresis (CE) was able to complete the analysis in six minutes. The electrophoregrams of extracts of both durum and common wheat commercial cultivars were compared. The registered cultivar (cv.) Kamut® was included as a representative of rustic cereal species. A different number of peaks were detected in the profile relative to the tetraploid and exaploid analyzed cultivars. Three main peaks were observed for all tetraploid cultivars, while four peaks were detected for the common wheat cultivars. The peak corresponding to the α-amylase inhibitor type III was identified in the common wheat electrophoregram. The possibility of quantitative determination of this inhibitor has been investigated.