Relationship of ergosterol content and fungal contamination and assessment of technological quality of malting barley preserved in a metal silo using the near-ambient method

Environmental microbiologists frequently use ergosterol, a fungal-specific membrane lipid, as an indicator of fungal infection in grain and other plant materials. Microbiological loading and technological quality of barley was determined directly after harvest, after post-harvest drying, and during storage. The conventional plate count method was used to measure fungal contamination (CFU). Ergosterol concentration (ERG) was determined by extraction, saponification and quantification using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with UV detection. The laboratory malting method was used to determine technological quality of the malt. Results showed a significant correlation between ERG and CFU (the coefficient of correlation was 0.92). Analyses also indicated that the high germinative energy and technological quality of the malt produced from dried barley was retained.