Barley Grain as a Source of Health-Beneficial Substances

Abstract

Barley is an excellent source of non-starch polysaccharides, i.e. soluble fiber (&beta;-glucans and arabinoxylans), it contains many important vitamins (vitamin E and vitamin B-complex) and enzymes (superoxide dismutase, catalase). A set of the malting varieties and a line KM 1057 had statistically significantly higher content of arabinoxylans (4.40–5.58%) compared to the other KM lines (CZ origin) and the variety Merlin (Canada origin) (3.51–3.64%). Content of &beta;-glucans in grain of varieties/lines was in a reverse order. The variety Merlin and lines KM (4.10–6.08%) had higher &beta;-glucan content compared to the malting varieties and lines KM 1057 (2.78–4.02%). In the studied set of varieties/lines, strong negative correlation <I>(r</I> = –0.78**) between content of &beta;-glucans and arabinoxylans was determined.