Effects of variety and steeping conditions on some barley components associated with colonic health

Journal article, 2016

BACKGROUND: Butyric acid is produced from dietary fibre by microbiota and is crucial for maintaining a healthy colon. Physico-chemical properties are important for butyric acid formation, which can be changed by processing such as malting. This study aimed to evaluate the use of malting to tailor the functional characteristics of barley dietary fibre. The effect of different steeping conditions was evaluated by malting three different barley varieties. RESULTS: Steeping at 35 °C and 0.4 % (v/v) lactic acid resulted in a higher content of β-glucan and soluble fibre in the malts than in malts produced at lower temperature and lactic acid concentration. Resistant starch also increased while the content of soluble arabinoxylan was lower. Fibre components in Tipple were more affected by steeping conditions than the other varieties. Contents of iron, phytate and amylose were little influenced by steeping conditions. CONCLUSION: The selection of steeping conditions during malting influence composition and the characteristics of dietary fibre in barley, and also the choice of barley variety is important for tailoring of functional ingredients beneficial for colonic health