Oat and Barley in the Food Supply and Use of Beta Glucan Health Claims

Abstract

Beta glucan is a type of soluble dietary fibre found in oats and barley with known cholesterol-lowering benefits. Many countries globally have an approved beta glucan health claim related to lowering blood cholesterol, an important biomarker for cardiovascular disease. However, the use of these claims has not been examined. The aim of this study was to explore the range and variety of oat and barley products in the Australian and global market within a defined range of grain food and beverage categories and examine the frequency of beta glucan health claims. Australian data were collected via a recognised nutrition audit process from the four major Australian supermarkets in metropolitan Sydney (January 2018 and September 2020) and Mintel Global New Product Database was used for global markets where a claim is permitted. Categories included breakfast cereals, bread, savoury biscuits, grain-based muesli bars, flour, noodles/pasta and plant-based milk alternatives and information collected included ingredients lists and nutrition and health claims. Products from Australia (n = 2462) and globally (n = 44,894) were examined. In Australia, 37 products (1.5%) made use of the beta glucan claim (84% related to oat beta glucan and 16% related to barley beta glucan, specifically BARLEYmax®). Of products launched globally, 0.9% (n = 403) displayed beta glucan cholesterol-lowering claims. Despite the number of products potentially eligible to make beta glucan claims, their use in Australia and globally is limited. The value of dietary modification in cardiovascular disease treatment and disease progression deserves greater focus, and health claims are an opportunity to assist in communicating the role of food in the management of health and disease. Further assessment of consumer understanding of the available claims would be of value.

A Review on the Impact of the Plant Bioactive Compound <i>β</i>-Glucans as Phytochemicals for Boosting Human and Animals’ Immune Response—<i>β</i>-Glucans as Immunostimulants

“…There are commercially available methods for D-Glucose assay. One of these D-Glucose assay method is by using the two enzymes of glucose oxidase, and peroxidase [34]. This method is preferred for its sensitivity, and is based on the enzyme glucose oxidase that oxidize D-Glucose into gluconic acid and hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2 ).…”

Molecular breeding of barley for quality traits and resilience to climate change

“…Commercially, barley is already used in a range of products. A recent survey sampling 2462 products from the four main supermarkets in metropolitan Sydney showed that 13.4% of breakfast cereals, 14.3% of breads and 0.8%–3.0% of savoury biscuits, grain-based muesli bars, flour and plant-based milk alternatives contained whole grain barley, while this ingredient was absent from the sampled noodles/pasta ( Hughes and Grafenauer, 2021 ). In addition, BARLEYmax®, a whole grain barley line high in beta-glucan and resistant starch developed by CSIRO, was present in a few samples (0.4%–2.4%) of breakfast cereals, bread and grain-based muesli bars.…”

“…The colours of barley cultivars and landraces are associated with the accumulation of flavonoid pigments in the pericarp and aleurone layer of the seed. Barley grains are a rich source of beta-glucans, which offer numerous benefits to human health globally ( Hughes and Grafenauer, 2021 ). Some cultivars can provide resistant starch to help control obesity and diabetes.…”

Desenvolvimento de barra de cereais com aproveitamento de resíduo de mosturação de cerveja desidratado e incorporação de proteína hidrolisada de soja e gelatina

“…Além disso, o resíduo de mosturação é rico em fibras alimentares, destacando-se as fibras prebióticas β-glucanas e arabinoxilo-oligossacarídeos, e compostos fenólicos, como por exemplo o ácido ferúlico. No entanto, este resíduo possui alto teor de umidade (70 a 75 %) (Hughes & Grafenauer, 2021;Shih et al, 2020).…”