Falling number

<h2 id="history">History</h2>
<p>The falling number method was developed at the end of the 1950s by Sven Hagberg and his co-worker Harald Perten, both at the Cereal Laboratory of the Swedish Institute for the Crafts and Industries.
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<h2 id="method-description">Method description</h2>
<p>The falling number method is uncomplicated, but requires an apparatus which follows the international standards. Such an apparatus consists of a water bath, a test tube, a stirring rod, and a stirring device. The test was performed manually when first employed, test instrumentation today is mostly automated.
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<ol><li>Flour samples can be analyzed directly. Grain samples are ground to a powder.</li>
<li>The sample is put into the test tube, <a href="/facts/Distilled_water/AkXShA73">distilled water</a> is added, and the tube is shaken vigorously to achieve a homogeneous mix</li>
<li>The tube is placed in the boiling water bath, and the sample is stirred. The starch begins to gelatinize and the <a href="/facts/Slurry/erSTjthc">slurry</a> becomes more <a href="/facts/Viscosity/QLVfrdCz">viscous</a>. The mixing ensures the gelatinization is homogeneous in the slurry, crucial for consistent test results. An additional effect of the high temperature is that the <a href="/facts/Alpha-amylase/6xXvngle">alpha-amylase</a> enzyme contained in the grain begins to break the starch down into <a href="/facts/Glucose/oUSkoLCD">glucose</a> and <a href="/facts/Maltose/v43CVtaU">maltose</a>, thereby reducing the viscosity of the slurry. The amount of starch break-down is directly proportionate to the alpha-amylase activity, meaning that the higher the activity of the alpha-amylase, the lower the viscosity will be.</li>
<li>After 60 seconds of mixing, the stirrer is dropped from the top of the test tube, and the time it takes to reach the bottom is measured. That time, measured in seconds, is the falling number.</li></ol>
<p>The speed at which the stirrer falls is determined by the viscosity of the slurry. Samples with more sprouted grain have greater alpha-amylase activity, which will result in a less viscous slurry and a smaller falling number. Samples with less alpha-amylase activity will be more viscous and have a larger falling number.
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<ul><li><a href="https://www.iso.org/standard/54114.html"><i>ISO 3093:2009 – Wheat, rye and their flours, durum wheat and durum wheat semolina – Determination of the falling number according to Hagberg-Perten</i></a>. <a href="/facts/International_Organization_for_Standardization/IacYR7Yg">ISO</a>. December 2009. Retrieved 23 March 2024.</li>
<li>Stevens, DB; Baldwin, JH; Stevens, BJ; Stewart, BA; Hook, SCW; Morgan, AG; Vaidyanathan, LV; Jones, LG; Gale, MD; Flintham, JE; Duffus, Carol M (August 1988), <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20240323132106/https://projectblue.blob.core.windows.net/media/Default/Research%20Papers/Cereals%20and%20Oilseed/rr2.pdf"><i>Research Review No. 2: Hagberg falling number and breadmaking quality</i></a> (PDF), Hamlyn House, Highgate Hill, London N19 5PR: Home-Grown Cereals Authority (HGCA), archived from <a href="https://projectblue.blob.core.windows.net/media/Default/Research%20Papers/Cereals%20and%20Oilseed/rr2.pdf">the original</a> (PDF) on 23 March 2024, retrieved 23 March 2024{{citation}}:  CS1 maint: location (link)</li>
<li>Hagberg, Sven (1960). <a href="https://www.cerealsgrains.org/publications/cc/backissues/1960/Documents/chem37_218.pdf">"A Rapid Method for Determining Alpha-Amylase Activity"</a> (PDF). <i>Cereal Chemistry</i>. 37: 218–222. Retrieved 24 March 2024. Original paper describing the method, manuscript received 9 December 1958, published 1960.</li>
<li>Hagberg, Sven (1961). <a href="https://www.cerealsgrains.org/publications/cc/backissues/1961/Documents/chem38_202.pdf">"Note on a Simplified Rapid Method for Determining Alpha-Amylase Activity"</a> (PDF). <i>Cereal Chemistry</i>. 38: 202–203. Retrieved 24 March 2024. Short update describing a modification of the method.</li>
<li>Perten, Harald [in Estonian] (1964). <a href="https://www.cerealsgrains.org/publications/cc/backissues/1964/Documents/chem41_127.pdf">"Application of the Falling Number Method for Evaluating Alpha-Amylase Activity"</a> (PDF). <i>Cereal Chemistry</i>. 41: 127–139. Retrieved 24 March 2024.</li>
<li>Hu, Yang; Sjoberg, Stephanie M.; Chen, Chunpen (James); Hauvermale, Amber L.; Morris, Craig F.; Delwiche, Stephen R.; Cannon, Ashley E.; Steber, Camille M.; Zhang, Zhiwu (May 2022). <a href="http://www.steberlab.org/pubs/2022a.pdf">"As the number falls, alternatives to the Hagberg–Perten falling number method: A review"</a> (PDF). <i>Comprehensive Reviews in Food Science and Food Safety</i>. 21 (3): 2105–2117. <a href="/facts/Doi_(identifier)/muM9Etpq">doi</a>:<a href="https://doi.org/10.1111%2F1541-4337.12959">10.1111/1541-4337.12959</a>. <a href="/facts/PMID_(identifier)/JlHAvMHt">PMID</a> <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35411636">35411636</a>. Retrieved 24 March 2024.</li>
<li>"AACC International Method 56-81.03 Determination of Falling Number", <a href="https://www.cerealsgrains.org/resources/Methods/tools/Documents/56-81.pdf"><i>AACC Approved Methods of Analysis</i></a> (PDF) (11 ed.), Cereals & Grains Association, <a href="/facts/Doi_(identifier)/muM9Etpq">doi</a>:<a href="https://doi.org/10.1094%2Faaccintmethod-56-81.03">10.1094/aaccintmethod-56-81.03</a>, retrieved 24 March 2024</li></ul>
<h2 id="external-links">External links</h2>
<ul><li><a href="https://www.iso.org/standard/54114.html">ISO 3093:2009</a></li>
<li><a href="https://icc.or.at/publications/icc-standards/standards-overview/107-1-standard-method">ICC 107/1</a></li></ul>

Falling number open-in-new

Falling number