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Research Article
ScienceAsia 29 (2003): 203-207 |doi: 10.2306/scienceasia1513-1874.2003.29.203
Easy and Rapid Detection of Iron in Rice Grain
Chanakan Prom-u-thaia,*, Bernie Dellb, Gordon Thomsonb and Benjavan Rerkasema
ABSTRACT: In this study, we show how a preliminary determination of grain Fe in rice may be made with
reaction to Perls’ Prussian blue, a stain for Fe (III). Differential localization of Fe in grain parts was indicated
by the intensity of reaction of tissue Fe to the dye. The blue colour reaction was most intense in the embryo,
weak in the aleurone layer of the pericarp and invisible in the endosperm. The staining intensity also varied
with the region of the embryo, generally being strongest in the scutellum, intermediate in the coleorhiza and
weakest in the coleoptile. Variation in the reaction to Perls’ Prussian blue was observed among eleven rice
genotypes with varying grain Fe contents. The intensity of the blue colour reaction in the embryo of different
rice genotypes was indicative of their grain Fe contents for both brown and white (polished) rice. Those with
high grain Fe,  14 mg Fe kg-1, were clearly distinguishable from those with  10 mg Fe kg-1 with Perls’
Prussian blue. We suggest that this simple staining procedure may be used to quickly screen for high Fe
contents in large germplasms containing hundreds of rice entries, using reactions in genotypes with known
grain contents as standards.
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a Department of Agronomy Faculty of Agriculture, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai 50200, Thailand.
b School of Biological Sciences and Biotechnology, Murdoch University, Perth 6150, Australia.
* Corresponding author, Email: g4268101@cm.edu
Received 2 Dec 2002, Accepted 21 Feb 2003
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