Method Description
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. Whereas the method was quite manual when it was first invented, instruments today are quite automated in their operation.
To analyze a grain sample it first needs to be ground to a powder, whereas a flour sample can be analyzed as it is. The sample is put into the test tube; distilled water is added, and the tube is then shaken vigorously to achieve a homogeneous mix. The tube is then placed in the boiling water bath, and the Falling Number instrument starts to stir the sample. Simultaneously the starch begins to gelatinize and the slurry becomes more viscous. The mixing makes sure the gelatinization is homogeneous in the slurry. What also happens at this elevated temperature is that the alpha-amylase enzyme starts to break down the starch and the viscosity thus decreases. The amount of starch break-down is dependent on the alpha-amylase activity and this means that the higher the activity of the alpha-amylase the lower the viscosity will be.
After 60 seconds of mixing, the stirrer is dropped from the top of the test tube, and the Falling Number instrument measures the time it takes for the stirrer to reach the bottom. That time, measured in seconds, is the Falling Number. When the stirrer is dropped, its speed and thus the time it takes it to fall to the bottom, will be determined by the viscosity of the slurry. In other words, the more sprouted the grain was the higher the alpha-amylase activity will be. The higher the alpha-amylase activity the lower the viscosity of the slurry. The lower the viscosity of the slurry the faster the stirrer will fall to the bottom. That is why more sprouted grain results in a lower Falling Number as Falling Number is the time it takes the stirrer to fall to the bottom.
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