1H-NMR imaging analysis of changes of free water distribution in barley and soybean seeds during maturation.

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Abstract
Free water content of barley seeds, as detected by a NMR, paralleled respiratory activity. Therefore, the amount and the mobility of free water were considered to be usable as indices of biological activity condition in seeds. The changes of the distribution map and the relaxation time of free water in barley and soybean seeds during maturation were traced by 1H-NMR imaging (MRI). The disappearance of free signal which is considered to indicate the decline of biological activities and the accumulation of stored materials such as polysaccharides and proteins, proceeded uniniformly in the endosperm of barley seed. Vascular bundles, each containing a water filled cavity, became thick at 14th day after heading, early stage of accumulation of stored materials, and it became thin following ripening, and no free water was detected uniformly in the developing seeds but not in those after the stage of maximum seed size and the dry seeds of soybean. The spin-lattice relaxation time (T1) of free water in seed shortened while that in pod lengthened with the progress of ripening of soybean. Free water in rachiness and awns was observed in barley after the maturation stage and that in pod was also observed in soybean at the stage of maximum seed size. The proton signal due to triglyceride fatty acids stored in spherosomes was detectable in the dry soybean seed.

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