Added value products from barley

The main aim of the project is to exploit the functional properties and health benefits of barley by advanced analytical techniques, and develop processing methods that retain and promote these benefits. To do this barley, the most grown Norwegian grain, and brewer’s spent grain will be degraded with different enzymes (proteases, peptidases, glucanases, xylanases, deesterases) to solubilize proteins and carbohydrates and release bound antioxidants. After establishment of biological activity the processes will be optimised with regard to the bioactive compound(s) present. Both the raw materials and products will be fractionated by extractions with aqueous extractants and chemically characterised (antioxidants, proteins/peptides, oligo-/polysaccharides) and tested for fermentability and immunological properties and included in broiler and fish feed in order to establish which fractions are biologically active. Selected bioactive fractions will be further fractionated by mainly chromatographic methods, and t he isolates analysed, tested for bioactivity and compared with non-bioactive fractions to determine function/structure relationships. Both in the raw materials and after enzymic degradation antioxidant (amount/capacity), carbohydrate, and peptides will be studied both by traditional methods as well as by advanced instrumental methods (NMR,MALDI-TOF,Ion-Trap MSn). Anaerobic fermentability will be tested with intestinal bacteria from faeces and/or with cultures of representative strains and studied for heal th promoting fermentation products, e.g. SCFAs. The bacterial community will be analysed by DNA-techniques to identify potential prebiotic fractions or compounds. Immunological activity will be investigated by the complement-fixation test. Nutritional and health effects in broiler chicks and fish will be studied by feeding trials. In addition to the direct relevance for the anianimal and aquacultural industry, the broiler chick will also serve as a human model.