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Brilliant Barley

A gel extracted from barley could help lower people's blood cholesterol levels, among other health benefits. The gel is made using a new extraction process developed by Industrial Research, and is a unique product with potential uses in pharmaceuticals, cosmetics and functional foods.

It has been branded Glucagel and is a novel type of 98-glucan. 98-Glucan is a type of polysaccharide found in grasses, and especially in cereal grains. Polysaccharides are used in a wide range of foods. However, purified 98-glucan has not been widely used up to now because previous extraction methods required large amounts of water soluble organic solvent, making them too costly. They also yielded a highly viscous product which was difficult to dissolve and had an unpleasant mouth feel.

Industrial Research's new extraction process is much more straightforward. It doesn't require large amounts of organic solvents and uses minimal quantities of water. The process yields a high quality product that should be relatively inexpensive to produce, according to research scientist Dr Keith Morgan.

"We know from other people's research that 98-glucan can give some significant health benefits which make it a valuable polysaccharide," Morgan says. "These include lowering blood cholesterol levels and moderating glycaemic response to the digestion of starchy foods."

Glucagel's advantages include that it dissolves readily in hot water then forms a soft gel which, unlike other similar substances, feels good in the mouth. It also has no flavour or odour.

The 98-glucan content of barley varies between 2% and 15%, depending on the variety. The new extraction process is fairly efficient, with up to 70% of the 98-glucan able to be extracted from ground barley on a laboratory scale.

The project is being conducted in conjunction with Crop & Food Research Ltd and is part of a soluble fibres programme led by Graeme Coles. Crop & Food are looking at potential health benefits and raw material production management, for example improving breeding to increase glucan yields, and determining the best time to harvest.

So far 15 kg of Glucagel has been produced in Industrial Research's pilot processing plant and samples sent to interested overseas companies for evaluation.

Future work includes setting up a New Zealand company to develop Glucagel's potential, investigating niche uses, and commercialising its production.

Most New Zealand-grown barley is harvested in Canterbury and used mainly for stock feed so this new venture could offer growers an alternative outlet. Morgan says long term, if Glucagel can be produced cheaply enough, it could become a fundamental food ingredient.