Abstract:
Cereal β-glucan, which occurs in plant cell walls, is the major component of soluble dietary fiber in oat and barley. Soluble fibers with a high solution viscosity, which is positively correlated to molecular weight (MW), lower the serum glucose and cholesterol levels. The relevant health claims on β-glucan as a functional food have been allowed by regulatory authorities, including the EFSA and the US FDA. In most processed-food systems, the native hydrolytic enzymes are inactivated, but oxidative degradation of this non-starch polysaccharide can, however, adversely affect the claimed health benefits. (Kivelä 2011). Although the physiological benefits are positively correlated with the viscosity of β-glucan, the relationship with its gelling capacity is not fully understood. The scope of the Master’s thesis included (1) the study of gelation characteristics of oxidised solutions of oat and barley β-glucan, and (2) correlating the results obtained by dynamic light scattering (DLS) microrheology with conventional rheology.