2001 AACC Annual Meeting Charlotte, North Carolina October 14-18, 2001 Charlotte Convention Center

The beneficial health effect of beta-glucan has been shown to be strongly related to molecular weight of beta-glucan. That is why the preservation of its molecular weight during various treatments is important. We have previously shown that some physical factors like freezing/thawing or extended frozen storage and drying had no effect on molecular weight of beta-glucan originating either from oat or barley. Neither had boiling at pH range 5-7 any noticeable effect. We have in some cases, however, observed substantial decreases in molecular weight. In this work effect of ultrasonic and mechanical treatment (extrusion) along with UV-radiation are studied. Also results from experiments from extraction of beta-glucan under alkaline conditions with subsequent precipitation to obtain pure high molecular weight fractions are presented.