Comparison of Cotton +b Values to Carbohydrate and Amino Acid Content

It is widely accepted that color can be a predictor of potential cotton processing, quality and dyeability issues.  Previous work compared HVI +b values with reducing sugar amounts, pH, storage time and temperature to draw relationships between them. A reduction in sugars have, on occasion, been shown to correlate with a an increase in +b.  The reaction between amino acids and carbohydrates may also lend to color development. We have begun a preliminary examination of the chemical mechanisms that could lend to cotton color (e.g., +b values), using a ninhydrin test for amino acid detection and ion chromatography for carbohydrates detection. Since variations in color may indicate variations in physical properties which influence processing and quality, we compared those amino acid and carbohydrate values to cotton samples with a variety of +b values in order to detect any trends.