Determination and cluster analysis of lipoxygenase(LOX) activity and pentosan content in 68 wheat varieties

Lipoxygenase(LOX) and pentosan are the most important factors which affect nutritional quality and processing quality of common wheat. Sixty-eight wheat varieties(lines) were selected to determine LOX activity, and the contents of total pentosan(TP), water-soluble pentosan(WSP) and water-insoluble pentosan(WIP), and variances among the wheat varieties were analyzed. The results indicated that the difference of LOX activity, content of TP, WSP and WIP were highly significant among the varieties. The means of LOX activity, the contents of WSP, WIP and TP were 10.35 nkat·g-1, 4.49%, 0.90% and 3.59%, respectively. The range of them were 4.50-19.40 nkat·g-1, 2.93%-5.95%, 0.49%-1.35% and 1.92%-5.01%, correspondingly. Based on the longest distance(Euclidean distance) method, all the varieties could be clustered into four major groups.