doiSerbia

Divergence of barley and oat varieties according to their content of β-glucan

Marković Stefan M. (Faculty of Science, Kragujevac)
Đukić Nevena H. (Faculty of Science, Kragujevac)
Knežević Desimir (Faculty of Agriculture, Kosovska Mitrovica, Lesak)
Leković Suzana V. (Faculty of Science, Kragujevac)

Barley and oat have been promoted for years as good sources of dietary fiber, especially β-glucan. Studies have shown a positive effect of barley and oat β-glucan on human health and as a result, there has been an increasing demand for β-glucans in the past decade. Thus, the variability of the β-glucan content was investigated in the grain of 10 barley and 10 oat varieties. The β-glucan contents were determined by the ICC Standard Method No 168. The content of β-glucan in the analyzed barley varieties were within the range 3.52–7.81% and in analyzed oat varieties, the content of β-glucan were within the range of 3.15–7.28%. Among analyzed barley varieties, Novosadski 314 contained the highest content of β-glucan (7.81%), while Tomba had the highest content of β-glucan (7.28%) in the analyzed oat varieties. Based on the results, it could be concluded that there is genetic diversity of oat and barley varieties with respect to their β-glucan content. This fact enables varieties with a high a nutritional capacity to be selected.

Keywords: Avena sativa, Hordeum sativum, selection, variability