A comparative analysis of free, bound and total lipid content on spelt and winter wheat wholemeal

Free lipids (FL), bound lipids (BL) and total lipids (TL) were determined by the Soxhlet method in whole ground spelt (Triticum aestivum ssp. spella L.) and hexaploid winter wheat (T. aestivum) samples. Ninety-one samples of spelt and 78 samples of winter wheat were analysed in the present study. The available material is representative of the wide variability found in spell (true spelt forms compared with spell wheat hybrid material). The results show that spell differs from winter wheat by a higher FL and TL content (on average, 1.3 times and 1.2 times respectively). Furthermore, our results demonstrate that FL account for most of the high TL content of spelt Lis compared to winter wheat. Lipid content is a parameter which allows a distinction between spell and winter wheat. This could lie useful for breeders to classify spelt varieties. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd