Diffusion of Water in the Wheat Grain: Nuclear Magnetic Resonance and Radioisotopic Methods Provide Complementary Information

Abstract

Diffusion of water within developing grains of wheat has been evaluated by two independent methods: by kinetic analysis of the movement of tritiated water (THO) through the grain, and by n.m.r. procedures. Both methods provided different but complementary information.

Movement of THO basipetally through grains attached to the ear was faster than diffusion could explain, and a reversal of the gradient of THO at the base of the grain also could not be accounted for by diffusion. These observations are adduced as evidence for recirculation of water within the grain.

The average diffusion coefficient measured by both methods indicated that the diffusive motion of water was substantially hindered. Freezing and thawing resulted in an increase in diffusion but did not increase diffusion to values expected of free water. Starch, the major polymeric component of the grain, was not responsible for the residual reduction in diffusion coefficient in frozen and thawed tissue.