Effects of the addition of waxy and normal hull-less barley flours on the farinograph and pasting properties of composite flours and on the nutritional value, textural qualities, and in vitro digestibility of resultant breads

Effects of synergistic modification using alkalis and guar gum on the pasting, rheological, and microstructural properties of germinated highland barley starch gels

Germination treatment of highland barley enhances its nutritional value while weakening the starch gel properties. This study aims to enhance the characteristics of germinated highland barley starch (GBS) by exploring the synergistic effects of two alkalis (Na2CO3 and NaHCO3) and guar gum (GG) on GBS gel properties. The combined action of alkalis and GG significantly improved the peak viscosity, setback viscosity, and hardness compared with GG alone. The highest G' and G" reached 998 and 204 Pa at 0.4% Na2CO3 addition, which were increased by nearly 44% and 50%, respectively. Fourier-transform infrared spectral analysis revealed that the alkalis strengthened interaction forces, particularly with intensified absorption peaks at 3200-3700 cm-1 and 1550-1750 cm-1. The Na2CO3 and NaHCO3 reduced the spin-spin relaxation time (T2), resulting in a dense starch gel network. This study contributes to enhancing the market application of GBS and offers innovative insights for modifying other starches.

Beta-Glucans of Cereals: Functional and Technological Properties

β-glucans are a polymeric dietary fiber characterized by β-(1,3) and β-(1,4) glycosidic bonds between glucose monomers. They are often used as thickeners, stabilizers, and fat substitutes in foods. The functional and technological quality of β-glucans is attributed to their origin/source, molecular weight, and structural properties. In particular, physical treatments such as drying, cooking, freezing, and refrigeration influence their molecular, morphological, and rheological characteristics. In addition to their useful technical qualities, β-glucans are recognized for their numerous beneficial impacts on human health. For this reason, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has provided a positive opinion on health claims such as cholesterol lowering and hypoglycemic properties relating to oats and barley β-glucans. This paper provides insight into the properties of β-glucans and different treatments affecting their characteristics and then reviews the latest research on β-glucans as a functional ingredient for people with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM).

Highland Barley Starch: Structures, Properties, and Applications

Highland barley (HB) is a nutritious crop with excellent health benefits, and shows promise as an economically important crop with diverse applications. Starch is the main component of HB and has great application potential owing to its unique structural and functional properties. This review details the latest status of research on the isolation, chemical composition, structure, properties, and applications of highland barley starch (HBS). Suggestions regarding how to better comprehend and utilize starches are proposed. The amylopectin content of HBS ranged from 74% to 78%, and can reach 100% in some varieties. Milling and air classification of barley, followed by wet extraction, can yield high-purity HBS. The surface of HBS granules is smooth, and most are oval and disc-shaped. Normal, waxy, and high-amylose HBS have an A-type crystalline. Due to its superb freeze-thaw stability, outstanding stability, and high solubility, HBS is widely used in the food and non-food industries. The digestibility of starch in different HB whole grain products varies widely. Therefore, the suitable HB variety can be selected to achieve the desired glycemic index. Further physicochemical modifications can be applied to expand the variability in starch structures and properties. The findings provide a thorough reference for future research on the utilization of HBS.

Molecular breeding of barley for quality traits and resilience to climate change

Barley grains are a rich source of compounds, such as resistant starch, beta-glucans and anthocyanins, that can be explored in order to develop various products to support human health, while lignocellulose in straw can be optimised for feed in husbandry, bioconversion into bioethanol or as a starting material for new compounds. Existing natural variations of these compounds can be used to breed improved cultivars or integrated with a large number of mutant lines. The technical demands can be in opposition depending on barley's end use as feed or food or as a source of biofuel. For example beta-glucans are beneficial in human diets but can lead to issues in brewing and poultry feed. Barley breeders have taken action to integrate new technologies, such as induced mutations, transgenics, marker-assisted selection, genomic selection, site-directed mutagenesis and lastly machine learning, in order to improve quality traits. Although only a limited number of cultivars with new quality traits have so far reached the market, research has provided valuable knowledge and inspiration for future design and a combination of methodologies to achieve the desired traits. The changes in climate is expected to affect the quality of the harvested grain and it is already a challenge to mitigate the unpredictable seasonal and annual variations in temperature and precipitation under elevated [CO₂] by breeding. This paper presents the mutants and encoded proteins, with a particular focus on anthocyanins and lignocellulose, that have been identified and characterised in detail and can provide inspiration for continued breeding to achieve desired grain and straw qualities.

Effect of the Addition of Hulless Barley Flour on the Quality of Short-Dough Cookies

Short-dough cookies are one of the most popular cereal-based products in the world, but usually they are considered as foods with a low nutritional value. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the possibility of replacing part of the wheat flour (WF) with hulless barley flour (HLBF), in order to improve the functional properties and nutritional value of the cookies. Cookies were prepared from composite flours in the ratios HLBF:WF 0:100, 25:75, 50:50, 75:25, and 100:0. The results show that as the HLBF content in the composite flour increases, the viscosity of the corresponding HLBF:WF slurries also increases, due to the high dietary fiber content (especially the high β-glucan content), which is significantly higher when HLBF is included in the formulation. The addition of HLBF decreases the spread factor of the cookies, and increases their softness compared to the control cookies (100% WF), but these changes are not statistically significant up to 50% HLBF addition. The color of the HLBF:WF cookies is not significantly affected. A significant increase in total phenolic content (TPC) and increased antioxidant capacity (AOC) are observed in the HLBF:WF cookies. In addition, sensory evaluation confirms that WF can be replaced by up to 50% with HLBF without significant deterioration of the organoleptic properties of the cookies. It can be concluded that hulless barley serves as a promising raw material if the nutritional and functional properties of cereal-based products are to be improved.

Coarse cereals modulating chronic low-grade inflammation: review

Chronic low-grade inflammation (CLGI) is closely associated with various chronic diseases. Researchers have paid attention to the comprehensive application and development of food materials with potential anti-inflammatory activity. Owing to their abundant nutrients and biological activities, coarse cereals have emerged as an important component of human diet. Increasing evidence has revealed their potential protective effects against CLGI in chronic conditions. However, this property has not been systematically discussed and summarized. In the present work, numerous published reports were reviewed to systematically analyze and summarize the protective effects of coarse cereals and their main active ingredients against CLGI. Their current utilization state was investigated. The future prospects, such as the synergistic effects among the active compounds in coarse cereals and the biomarker signatures of CLGI, were also discussed. Coarse cereals show promise as food diet resources for preventing CLGI in diseased individuals. Their active ingredients, including β-glucan, resistant starch, arabinoxylan, phenolic acids, flavonoids, phytosterols and lignans, function against CLGI through multiple possible intracellular signaling pathways and immunomodulatory effects. Therefore, coarse cereals play a crucial role in the food industry due to their health effects on chronic diseases and are worthy of further development for possible application in modulating chronic inflammation.

Wheat rolls fortified with Greek oregano (Origanum vulgare ssp. hirtum (Link) Ietswaart) leaves – phytochemical changes during processing and simulated digestion, nutrient digestibility, and functional properties

Fortification with Greek oregano affects in vitro bioaccessibility of phytochemicals, protein and starch digestibility, and functional properties of wheat rolls.