Barley and malt starches were compared with respect to their lipid con
tent and composition. The starch lipids were first fractionated into i
nternal and surface lipid fractions followed by lipid class and fatty
acid analyses of each fraction. Barley starch contained 13 mg/g lipids
, of which 9.3 mg were internal lipids and 3.7 mg were surface lipids.
The total lipid content of malt starches varied between 11 and 13 mg/
g of starch. However, malt starch contained only 1 mg of surface lipid
s; therefore, the internal lipid contents were as high as or even high
er than those in the corresponding fraction of barley starch. Lipid cl
ass analyses suggested that the ability for hydrolysis of starch surfa
ce lipids was increased in malt. The hydrolysis occurred during the ma
lting or the isolation process, resulting in reduced surface lipid con
tent in malt starch. However, no reduction in the portion of polyunsat
urated fatty acids was seen; therefore, lipid oxidation could not have
been responsible for the lower content of malt starch surface lipids.
Also, not only was the content of starch internal lipids higher in ma
lt, but the composition of these lipids was different when compared to
barley starch. The increase in starch internal lipids during malting
may be due to transportation and reacylation of free fatty acids that
had been liberated by hydrolysis from surface lipids.