Quantification of β-glucans in Barley – Review

Abstract

The increasing interest in defi ning the content of β-glucans is related to the development of methods for their determination. Several methods of determination have been published. At present, the most widespread McCleary's enzymatic method is based on the specific hydrolysis of β-glucan by enzymes with β-glucanase activity and the determination of free glucose, which has become the offi cial AACC, AOAC, and ICC method. The second most widely used method is the Flow Injection Analysis (FIA) method based on fl uorescence detection of the Calcofl uor complex with β-glucans. This method has become the offi cial EBC method. In addition, modifi cations of the enzymatic method and other methods of determination – chromatographic and spectrometric - are surveyed.