ALPHA-1,4-ALPHA-1,6 GLUCOPOLYSACCHARIDES CONTAINED IN DEVELOPING MAIZE KERNELS

Corn grains with different filling times were fractionated in order to obtain their alpha 1,4-alpha 1,6 glucopolysaccharide composition and structure. Sugary, waxy, flint and several hybrids were the varieties analyzed. There is an increase in the total content of polysaccharides , as the grain is completed. But, no differences in composition and st ructure were detected between the first sample analyzed (15th day afte r pollination) and the last one, which corresponds to the complete gra in filling period. The methodology developed by us, allowed us to obse rve that the introduction of su character on the hybrids (F X S and S X F) has influence on the final polysaccharide structure. Also, in the F X W hybrid alpha 1,4-alpha 1,6 glucans, their structural characteri stics were different from those of F or W pure.