Thiamine, Nicotinic Acid, Riboflavin and Pantothenic Acid in Rye and Its Milled Products

Abstract

Samples of the products of the rye-milling process were assayed for thiamine, nicotinic acid, riboflavin and pantothenic acid by microbiological methods. Except for pantothenic acid, the concentration of each of the vitamins is greatest in the germ. The middlings are also a potent source of each of the vitamins but particularly of pantothenic acid. The flour contains approximately two-thirds of the total vitamins in the whole grain. It is, therefore, a definitely richer source of the vitamin B complex than white wheat flour. Even a high degree of refining fails to bring the thiamine content to the low level characteristic of patent wheat flour. Rye flour contains approximately one-half of its total vitamins in the dark portion which constitutes only one-third of the total flour. Degermination of the rye prior to milling fails to remove enough of the vitamins to be detectable by the methods used since the germ constitutes such a small portion of the whole kernel. Bleaching appears to cause no vitamin losses except possibly in the case of riboflavin.