Feb. 9,1924 
The Association of Manganese with Vitamins 
419 
BARLEY 
The pericarp of the barley grain is slightly less pronounced than is 
that of unpolished rice; however, upon close observation, its presence 
can be detected. Five gm. of barley grains were pearled by hand to 
remove the pericarp and germ. Manganese was determined in the un¬ 
pearled and in the pearled grains. The unpearled grains contained 20 
parts per million of manganese and the pearled grains contained less 
than 1 part per million, thus showing that practically all of the man¬ 
ganese is contained in the pericarp and germ of the barley grain. 
WHEAT 
From the standpoint of the color of the pericarp, wheats may be 
divided into two general classes, red and white. Red wheats, as the 
name suggests, have a red or brown pericarp, while white wheats have a 
light-colored pericarp. Perliminary experiments indicate that a corre¬ 
lation exists between the color of wheats and the amount of manganese 
which they contain, the red varieties having a larger amount of manga¬ 
nese than the white. A determination of the manganese contained in 
one sample each of red and white wheat showed that the red variety 
contained 40 parts per million of manganese, and the white 20 parts per 
million. 
It has been reported that patent flour made from red wheat, although 
low in the vitamin factors, contains a greater number than does a similar 
grade of flour made from white wheat. It is also common knowledge 
that red winter and spring wheats contain a larger percentage of gluten 
than the white varieties, a fact which prompts the suggestion that 
manganese may be responsible for this condition. 
Samples of whole-wheat grains, wheat bran, and high-grade patent wheat 
flour were obtained and the manganese in each determined. The follow¬ 
ing table represents the amount of manganese in parts per million of 
each of the air-dried materials: 
Materials: Manganese 
Wheat grains. 40 
Wheat bran. 175 
Patent flour. 10 
It is apparent that the bran or pericarp contains several times as 
much manganese as either whole grain or patent flour when equal quan¬ 
tities are considered. It is also clear that the patent flour contains very 
little manganese, the greater part having been removed in the bran and 
the germ. The amount of manganese found in patent flour is the same 
as that found in polished rice. Assuming manganese to be the vitamin 
factor that is removed in the milling process, we should not expect patent 
flour to be a preventive of beriberi—an inference which is in accord with 
the facts as found by other investigators in feeding experiments with 
animals. 
From the foregoing results relative to the manganese content of the 
whole grains, pericarps, and the highly milled products of barley, wheat, 
and rice, it is evident that the greater part of the manganese is removed 
in the bran and polishings; it is therefore logical to assume that a 
compound of manganese may be the vital factor removed in the milling 
of these cereals. 
