A Fast Colorimetric Method to Estimate Corn Quality Loss

A fast method to estimate the loss of corn quality for wet milling as a result of excessive thermal treatment during drying is proposed. Proteins that remain soluble after drying were quantitatively extracted with a solution of phosphoric acid and ethanol. The soluble proteins were colorimetrically quantified using Coomasie Brillant Blue G dye and measuring at 595 nm. A decrease in absorbance values indicates a reduction in commercial quality of the corn. The application time of the proposed technique is approximately 30 min.