BIOLOGICALLY-ACTIVE SECONDARY METABOLITES OF BARLEY .4. HORDENINE PRODUCTION BY DIFFERENT BARLEY LINES

Forty-three lines of barley, including ancestral (wild), landraces, Mi ddle Eastern lines, and modem cultivars, were grown under two differen t sets of environmental conditions. Hordenine production in barley roo ts was determined at the one-leaf stage by HPLC analysis and, in two l ines only, over a period of 35 days. Forty-two of the 43 lines produce d significant amounts of hordenine, although there was no variation am ong groups. Middle Eastern lines had the highest production with 327 m ug/g on a dry weight basis. Production was, however, determined more b y environmental conditions during growth than by genetic factors. Hord enine production was up to seven times higher in plants grown under lo wer light intensities.