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.
Thus, water adjusted to the desirable temperature and pH can
prove effective in obtaining high yield and high molecular weight
b-glucan from barley flour. Further work on the purification of bglucan
from the extract and studies on its viscometric properties is
needed. This study is a first step for production of high amount and
high molecular weight b-glucan rich extracts from milled barley
samples.