Post-harvest assessment of wheat and barley kernel infections with fungi of the genus Fusarium using thermal analysis

Abstract

The aim of this study was to evaluate the applicability of differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) for discriminating wheat and barley kernels naturally infected with fungi of the genus Fusarium from healthy kernels. Differences in selected thermal parameters were observed between infected and healthy kernels. In infected wheat kernels, the 2nd endothermic peak occurred at 58.6–62.3 °C, the 3rd endothermic peak at 270.1–279.7 °C; the area under the DSC curve was determined at 1842–2246 J g−1, and mass loss at 76.26–80.39%. In healthy wheat kernels, the above parameters were determined at 77.0–78.9 °C, 292.6–311.0 °C, 1180–1432 J g−1, and 71.10–74.92%, respectively. In infected barley kernels, the 2nd endothermic peak occurred at 51.6–56.4 °C, the 3rd endothermic peak at 286.1–290.1 °C; the area under the DSC curve was determined at 1752–1998 J g−1, and mass loss at 78.65–81.22%. In healthy barley kernels, the investigated parameters were determined at 69.1–74.3 °C, 310.0–324.9 °C, 1187–1249 J g−1, and 72.18–74.09%, respectively.