Barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) A Prophetic Food Mentioned in Ahadith and its Ethnobotanical Importance

Abstract

5 Abstract: Barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) is the fourth most important cereal crop plant belonging to family Poaceae. In the present paper an attempt has been made to compile an up-to-date knowledge on Barley (known Shaeer in Arabic), covering its various aspects particularly its ethnobotanical importance. Barley was liked by Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) very much. He used its bread, talbina and sattu (powdered barley). Barley is easily digestible (due to low gluten contents) and has superior nutritional qualities due to presence of beta-glucan (an anticholesterol substance), acetylcholine (a substance which nourishes our nervous system and recovers memory loss), high lysine, thiamin and riboflavin. Decoction of the dried fruit is taken orally for diarrhea, respiratory tract infections, urinary tract infections, diabetes, hepatitis, bladder inflammation and enema. Hot water extract of dried plant and fruit is used for beriberi, cough, influenza, measles, syphilis, nephritis, jaundice, dysentery, abortion, common cold, for kidney diseases, skin diseases, hemorrhoids and infected ulcers. Barley is more tolerant (to salinity, drought and frost) than wheat and hence is more productive under adverse conditions. Therefore, barley can play an important role in conservation agriculture and can help in reducing the pressure on the use of natural resources. There is a scope for the development of food barley varieties with higher and stable yield and higher nutritional values in addition to their resistance potential against insect pests and diseases. Hence more applied and basic research needs to be conducted in this regard.