ABSTRACT
The primary structure of mixed-linkage cereal ß-glucans is a linear chain of glucopyranosyl monomers linked by a mixture of single ß-1,3 linkages and consecutive ß-1,4 linkages. The United States Food and Drug Administration has recognized the significance of soluble oat fiber from oat flour and bran by permitting beneficial health claims on food labels. Many factors influence the solubility, extractability, and yield of oat ß-glucans. These include particle size, pretreatment of cereal grains, and extraction conditions. In addition, several enzymatic procedures have been combined with solvent extraction to enrich for fiber components. Cereal ß-glucans can be included in a variety of food products, such as baked goods, pasta, noodles, muesli cereals, milk products, soups, salad dressings, beverages, and reduced-fat dairy and meat products. Oat ß-glucan was favored over barley β-glucan in some dairy products. Barley β-glucan can produce a gelled network that stabilizes whey protein concentrate foams and emulsions.
