Methods for Characterization of the Seed Proteins in Cereals and Legumes

The nutritional value, processing quality, genetic aspects, physiological and phytopathological behavior are involved when seed proteins in crops are studied. Proteins mirror some important properties of the plant or its product. For this reason we will describe recent developments of their characterization, e.g. by solubility or by other physical parameters such as size, shape and charge. No methods are covered which use costly equipment or have been discussed in recent reviews, such as ultracentrifugation, sequence analysis, isotachophoresis, HPLC (High Performance-Liquid-Chromatography) [50, 94], affinity chromatography [123], immuno assays with enzymes [33, 114, 168] or isotopes [170], characterization of lectins [92] and proteinases/inhibitors [130]. The excellent surveys on seed proteins of cereals and legumes [88a], of cereals [14, 111, 176a] and legumes [21] should be consulted. For amino acid composition see [45, 88a] and the book ‘Seed Protein Improvement in Cereals and Grain Legumes’, published in 1979 by the Internat. Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna (Austria).