Coupled-Column RP-HPLC in Combination with Chemometrics for the Characterization and Classification of Wheat Varieties

The application of a coupled-column reversed phase high-performance liquid chromatographic method is presented for assessing the quality of industrially relevant wheat flours. Three chromatographic columns filled with core–shell particles were connected in series to generate high resolving power. Peak heights of all 64 peaks in the resulting gliadin protein profiles were used as input data for the statistical comparison of ten wheat varieties. Univariate analysis of variances with nested design indicated that there were significant differences not only between the wheat varieties but also between the plots of lands they were cultivated on. The effect of the repeated sample preparations was found negligible. Principal component analysis and hierarchical clustering revealed that Bezostaja-1, Glenlea, MV-Karizma, MV-Magdaléna, MV-Mazurka and TF-Rétság had unique, while Bánkuti-1201, Fleischmann-481, Székács-1242 and TF-Komádi similar gliadin protein profiles. Nearest mean classification on the scores of the first three principal components could classify six wheat varieties out of ten.