Observations on the non-starchy barley polysaccharides

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.