De Forenede Bryggerier A/s

Gregory C Gibbons

Lars Munck

Carol Feil

In a method for identifying one or more botanical component parts from plants, a sample of the component parts is irradiated with electromagnetic radiation within the visible and/or ultra-violet and/or X-ray range for excitation of the component parts to fluorescence which is analyzed for determining characteristic fluorescence from the component parts. For determining the relative contents of the component parts in the sample, intensity measurements are carried out on the characteristic fluorescences or the number of emitters of characteristic fluorescence is counted. For identifying starchy endosperm parts, aleurone layer parts and hull layer parts originating from seeds, in particular cereal kernels, in ground seed samples, samples are excited at approximately 275 nm, approximately 350 nm and approximately 450 nm, respectively, for obtaining characteristic fluorescence at approximately 330 nm from the starchy endosperm parts, at approximately 420/470 nm from the aleurone layer parts, and at approximately 520 nm from the hull layer parts. Characteristic X-ray fluorescence is obtained from the potassium of the starchy endosperm, phosphorus and sulfur from the aleurone layer and silica from the hull layer. For manual evaluation of the component part contents, the characteristic fluorescences of the samples are compared with color scales. Fluorescence analysis provides more reliable qualitative and quantitative analyses of botanical component parts than do visible color analyses and ash and fiber analyses and is ideally suited for the control of component part separation processes such as mill processes.

Method for identifying botanical component parts of ground seeds

An illumination device permitting microscopes, for use of the microscope as a fluorescence microscope, comprises a light-screening tube (2, 4) preferably of variable length, one end of the tube being connectible to the microscope objective and the other end being disposed to surround the sample which is intended for microscopic observation on the sample stage (1) of the microscope. An opening in the tube is arranged to direct high intensity UV and/or visible light towards the sample. In that the light is directed towards the sample bypassing the optics of the microscope, substantially unchanged light intensity will be realized from the light source to the sample, which considerably facilitates fluorescence studies with, in particular, microscope objectives of low magnifying power and low numerical aperture.

Growing community of inventors

Virum, Denmark

Gregory C Gibbons