The experimental design approach was useful for determining
the optimum process parameters to yield the highest amount and
highest MW of b-glucan from barley flour. ANOVA showed that
both temperature and pH had significant effects on b-glucan yield
and molecular weight. Second order polynomial models were used
in predicting both the responses. The optimum condition for
maximising both the responseswas 55.6 C and pH 6.6. Under these
conditions, the experimental values were not only found to be in
close agreement with the predictive values, but the value for yield
(81.47%) was higher than for any of the single factor preliminary
experiment