Composition and utilization of barley pearling by-products for making functional pastas rich in dietary fiber and beta-glucans

Pearling by-products and the pearled products of two commercial stocks of h ulled barley, pearled according to an industrial process consisting of five consecutive pearling steps, were analyzed for beta-glucans, dietary fiber (total, soluble, and insoluble), protein, lipid, ash, and digestible carboh ydrate. The data showed that the pearling flour fractions, abraded in the f ourth and fifth hullers, contained interesting amounts of beta-glucans (3.9 -5.1% db) from a nutritional point of view. These fractions were subsequent ly enriched in beta-glucans using a milling-sieving process to double beta- glucan content (9.1-10.5% db). Functional pastas, enriched with beta-glucan s and dietary fiber, were produced by substituting 50% of standard durum wh eat semolina with beta-glucan-enriched barley flour fractions. Although dar ker than durum wheat pasta, these pastas had good cooking qualities with re gard to stickiness, bulkiness, firmness, and total organic matter released in rinsing water. The dietary fiber (13.1-16.1% wb) and beta-glucan (4.3-5. 0% wb) contents in the barley pastas were much higher than in the control ( 4.0 and 0.3% wb, respectively). These values amply meet the FDA requirement s of 5 g of dietary fiber and 0.75 g of beta-glucans per serving (56 g in t he United States and 80 g in Italy). At present, the FDA has authorized the health claim "may reduce the risk of heart disease" for food containing be ta-glucans from oat and psyllium only.