A SIMPLE DIAMYLASE PROCEDURE FOR THE ESTIMATION OF α-AMYLASE AND DIASTATIC ACTIVITY

Abstract

Mercuric chloride was used to selectively inhibit the sulphydryl function of β-amylase, enabling the dextrinizing activities of α-amylase and the Diastatic Power (total reducing power activity) to be calculated from a single extract of malt by one assay method. Using commercial malts, there was a 98% and 96% correlation between results obtained by this method and the recommended methods of the Institute of Brewing (IOB) for the determination of Diastatic Power (DP) and Dextrinizing Unit (DU).