Wheat crop may experience water deficit at crucial stages during its life cycle, which induces oxidative stress in the plants. The antioxidant status of the plant plays an important role in providing tolerance against the water stress. The objective of this study was to investigate the impact of water stress on physiological traits, antioxidant activity and transcript profile of antioxidant enzyme related genes in four wheat genotypes (C306, AKAW3717, HD2687, PBW343) at three crucial stages of plants under medium (75% of field capacity) and severe stress (45% of field capacity) in pots. Drought was applied by withholding water for 10 days at a particular growth stage viz. tillering, anthesis and 15 days after anthesis (15DAA). For physiological traits, a highly significant effect of water stress at a particular stage and genotypic variations for resistance to drought tolerance was observed. Under severe water stress, the malondialdehyde (MDA) content increased while the relative water content (RWC) and chlorophyll index decreased significantly in all the genotypes. The drought susceptibility index (DSI) of the genotypes varied from 0.18 to 1.9. The drought treatment at the tillering and anthesis stages was found more sensitive in terms of reduction in thousand grain weight (TGW) and grain yield. Antioxidant enzyme activities [superoxide dismutase (SOD) and peroxidase (POX)] increased with the decrease in osmotic potential in drought tolerant genotypes C306 and AKAW3717. Moreover, the transcript profile of Mn-SOD upregulated significantly and was consistent with the trend of the variation in SOD activity, which suggests that Mn-SOD might play an important role in drought tolerance.

In this study, efforts were made to utilize hulless barley (variety BHS352) to enhance the nutritive value of chapatti and biscuit made from wheat flour. Barley flour was added to wheat flour in different ratios (5 to 30%). Antioxidant activity, total phenolic content and β-glucan content were determined both in flour blends and their products. Changes in physical quality and taste of chapatti and biscuits after blending of hulless barley flour with wheat flour were measured. The chapatti quality score decreased by 15% and biscuit spread factor by 33% after 30% barley flour blending. Significant increase in β-glucan content and antioxidant activity of flour blends and their products was observed at 30% blending level. The phenolic content increased from 63 to 135 µg for biscuits and 237 to 287 ug GAE/g for chapatti with blending of 30% barley flour.

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Seventy‐two Indian barley varieties were screened for their antioxidant activity for 2 years using two antiradical systems. Differences in the levels of antioxidant activity in 2 years were obtained, but the genotypic differences still remained and a 2‐fold variability was observed in the antioxidant activity. Year‐to‐year differences were also obtained when the selected varieties were analyzed for their free and bound phenolic contents. Evaluation of the antioxidant activity and phenolic content in the five varieties grown at six different locations revealed that the antioxidant activity and the free phenolics were more influenced by the genotype, whereas the bound and the total phenolics were most influenced by the environment. After malting, no significant changes were observed in the antioxidant activity; however, a 2‐fold increase was observed in the total phenolic content, which was mainly due to the increase in the level of free phenolics after malting. Practical Applications Barley varieties with higher antioxidant activity and phenolic content can be beneficial both as food and also in brewing. This is the first time that almost all the released varieties from India have been analyzed for their antioxidant potential. In India, around 20% of the barley produced is used for malt production. Therefore, the effect of malting on the antioxidant activity and the free and bound phenolic components in 12 malting barley varieties was also studied. This study could help in identifying barley varieties with higher antioxidant activity for food purposes and the barley varieties with high phenolics for the brewing purposes. Identification of such lines can help the breeding program in developing food and malt barley varieties with improved levels of antioxidants, which can provide better health and industrial benefits.