Abstract
1. Methods have been developed whereby an extract of
barley containing the non-starchy water soluble
polysaccharides may be fractionated. The most
successful fractionating agent used was ammonium
sulphate.
2. At least two distinct polysaccharides have been
isolated. One, a pure glucosan which possesses
a small negative specific rotation and may be
likened to a short chain cellulose; two, a pentosan which gives arabinose and xylose on
hydrolysis and which is suspected to be a mixed
polysaccharide.
3 The precise source of the water soluble non- starchy
polysaccharides remains undetermined. The husk
and embryo would appear to be deficient in these
materials and the most probable location seems to
be some part of the endosperm.
4. The nature of action cf the cell-wall hydrolysing
enzyme systems of barley has been examined. The
results obtained confirm previous work which
postulated two enzyme systems - one, which had a
disaggregating action, and the second which had a saccharifying action. Such data as is available
indicate that the precise nature of the combined
action of the two systems is more complex than at
first suspected.
