ENVIRONMENTAL AND VARIETAL DIFFERENCES IN TOTAL β GLUCAN CONTENTS OF BARLEY AND THE EFFECTIVENESS OF ITS BREAKDOWN UNDER DIFFERENT MALTING CONDITIONS

Abstract

The total β glucan contents of a number of barley varieties grown at different sites in England have been determined using a direct enzyme degradation method. Variations in values for a single variety between sites or between harvests indicates that environmental factors are involved in regulating β glucan formation while the involvement of genetic factors is inferred from the finding that the ranking order for different varieties at each site and at each harvest is similar. A single variety of barley has been micromalted under varying conditions of moisture, temperature, gibberellic acid concentration and germination time and a very close correlation between the total β glucan levels and the fine-concentrated difference values has been obtained. This work confirms the relationship obtained earlier with different varieties of malts under a specific malting schedule, indicating that the relationship is one which is widely applicable. The measurement of total β glucan can therefore be used in the estimation of modification and the prediction of brewhouse yield.