Search

Barley is one of the world's oldest cereal crops forming an important component of many traditional diets. Barley is rich in a variety of bioactive phytochemicals with potentially health-promoting effects. However, its beneficial nutritional attributes are not being fully realized because of the limited number of foods it is currently utilized in. It is therefore crucial for the food industry to produce novel barley-based foods that are healthy and cater to customers' tastes. This article reviews the nutritional and functional characteristics of barley, with an emphasis on its ability to improve glucose/lipid metabolism. Then, recent trends in barley product development are discussed. Finally, current limitations and future research directions in glucolipid modulation mechanisms and barley bioprocessing are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Barley, a kind of cereal, is rich in polysaccharides, phenols, proteins, β‐glucan, etc. Our previous studies discovered that extracts from Lactobacillus plantarum dy‐1‐fermented barley (LFBE) held strong anti‐obesity property in obese rats through inhibiting inflammation and suppressing the differentiation in 3T3‐L1 preadipocytes; however, the precise mechanism of LFBE regulating lipid metabolism remains elusive. Results suggested LFBE and its main active components, especially the total phenols, exhibited fat‐lowering effects in glucose treated Caenorhabditis elegans at a certain concentration. Additionally, LFBE and the main components changed related genes in the insulin signaling pathway, fatty acid oxidation, and synthesis. Following verification study using mutants confirmed that the daf‐2 gene rather than the daf‐16 gene was required in LFBE and main components regulating lipid metabolism, which also involved in the process of fatty acid β‐oxidation and unsaturated fatty acid synthesis. Results demonstrated that LFBE and its main bioactivate compounds inhibited fat accumulation partly in a daf‐2‐dependent mechanism. Practical applications: Our previous studies have reported that extracts of fermented barley exhibited anti‐obesity activity. However, little is known about which functional factors play a leading role in decreasing fat deposition and its precise mechanism. Results indicated that daf‐2 mediated signaling pathways involved in the fat‐lowering effects of LFBE and its main components. Our findings are beneficial to understand the main nutritional ingredients in LFBE which are ideal and expected in functional foods for the obese. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND Barley contains a relatively high concentration of the mixed‐linkage (1 → 3) (1 → 4) β‐glucan, which has been reported to be a functional food with prebiotic potential. In the current study we compared the properties of two neutral barley β‐glucans, obtained from raw barley: raw barley β‐glucan (RBG) and Lactobacillus plantarum dy‐1‐fermented barley (FBG). RESULTS: Molecular characteristics revealed that the molecular weight of barley β‐glucan decreased from 1.13 × 105 D to 6.35 × 104 D after fermentation. Fermentation also improved the water / oil holding capacity, solubility, and swelling capacity of barley β‐glucan. Both RBG and FBG significantly improved the locomotive behavior of nematodes, thereby increasing their energy consumption and reducing fat deposition – the effect was more significant with FBG. These effects could potentially depend on nhr‐49, TGF‐daf‐7 mediated pathways and so on, in which nhr‐49 factor is particularly required. CONCLUSION: These results suggested that fermentation may enhance in vitro physiological activities of barley β‐glucan, thereby altering the effects on the lipid metabolism in vivo. © 2020 Society of Chemical Industry [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We have previously reported an aqueous extract of fermented barley with Lactobacillus plantarum dy-1 (LFBE) has more efficient anti-obesity effect compared with that of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. To further explore associated effects of LFBE on body weight and body fat distribution, and lipid profiles related metabolic outcomes, serum metabolites were analysed using LC-MS-MS and partial least-squares-discriminant analysis (PLS-DA). Obese and lean groups were clearly discriminated from each other on PLS-DA score plot and major metabolites contributing to the discrimination were assigned as lipid metabolites (fatty acids), lipid metabolism intermediates (choline, betaine, carnitine and butyryl-carnitine), amino acids and citric acid. A high-fat diet increased lipid metabolites and decreased lipid metabolism intermediates, indicating that abnormal lipid metabolism induced by a high-fat diet resulted in fat accumulation via decreased β-oxidation. But LFBE can inhibit fat accumulation by reducing lipid metabolites and increasing lipid metabolism intermediates. Furthermore, the level changes of these metabolites can be used to assess the risk of obesity and the therapeutic effect of obesity management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

β-glucan is an important functional active component with relatively high content in barley. It is reported to possess various biological activities, including anti-oxidative stress, but its mechanism of action remains obscure. In the current study, C. elegans was used as an in vivo animal model to explore its anti-oxidative stress mechanism. We found that both RBG (raw barley β-glucan) and FBG (fermented barley β-glucan) could significantly reduce the ROS level in C. elegans under oxidative emergency conditions. In addition, both FBG and RBG had positive effects on SOD and CAT enzyme activity, and FBG treatment obviously reduced the MDA content in nematodes under oxidative stress. Moreover, FBG and RBG pretreatment could extend the median lifespan of C. elegans under oxidative stress. The CB1370 and CF1038 mutants further confirmed that daf-2 and daf-16 were necessary for FBG or RBG to participate in anti-oxidative stress, and the RT-PCR results also evidenced that β-glucans resist oxidative stress in C. elegans partially through the daf-2 / daf-16 pathway. In summary, barley β-glucan has high potential to defense oxidative stress as a natural polysaccharide. [Display omitted] • RBG and FBG could increase the average survival rate of C. elegans under acute oxidative stress. • FBG and RBG reduce the level of ROS and MDA in C. elegans under oxidative stress. • FBG and RBG prolong the average lifespan of C. elegans under oxidative stress conditions without affecting the normal lifespan. • FBG and RBG change the expression of related oxidative stress genes in C. elegans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• β-glucan extracted from fermented barley showed lower molecular weight. • The glycosidic bond ratio and structure of β-glucan altered after barley fermented. • Fermentation process changed the effects of β-glucan on physiological activities. The effects of fermentation by Lactobacillus plantarum dy-1 on the main structural changes of barley β-glucan and their in vitro activities were studied. Molecular characteristics, infrared spectroscopy, monosaccharide composition, methylation, 1D and 2D-NMR analyses and scanning electron microscopy revealed that both (raw barley β-glucan) RBG and fermented barley β-glucan (FBG) are polysaccharides predominanted by β-(1→3) and β-(1→4) linked glucose. However, different molecular weight (decreasing from 1.13×105 D to 6.35×104 D), the ratio of the β-(1→3) residues to the β-(1→4) residues (ranging from 1:1.98-1:2.50 to 1:1.8-1:2.24) and microstructure features (transforming from a rod-like to sheet-like structure) were observed. Bioassay results showed that FBG exhibited improved inhibitory activities of α-amylase, α-glucosidase and lipase, as well as the adsorption of cholesterol under acidic conditions compared to RBG. These results suggested that fermentation may enhance in vitro physiological activities of barley β-glucan, especially related to glucose and lipid metabolism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]