Mechanism of calcium uptake in corn kernels during the traditional nixtamalization process: Diffusion, accumulation and percolation Original Research Article

In the present work the results of the mechanism of calcium uptake in nixtamalized corn kernel were studied. The results showed that at a critical time, the calcium uptake in the pericarp suffers a drastic change; this fact cannot be associated only to the diffusive mechanism. The SEM analysis of processed corn kernels, taken at 1 h of steeping time illustrates a calcium cluster formation. It means that for short steeping times the calcium uptake in the total kernel is governed by an accumulation process in the most external layers of the pericarp and the diffusion process is not relevant. The apparition of micro-holes for critical time in dependence on the temperature indicates that another mechanism is contributing to the calcium uptake. These holes can pass thought the whole pericarp or form an interconnected lattice to develop a percolation path. The holes formations allow the entrance of water and calcium directly to the outermost layers of the endosperm and now the accumulation of calcium is not the predominant mechanism. It could be implied that, at this critical time the percolation of water and calcium thought these holes is the main mechanism to calcium uptake in the corn kernel and the diffusion process is not relevant.