Barley - Beneficial Nutrients and uses - बाराही अनलाइन खबर

Barley, (Hordeum vulgare), cereal plant of the grass family Poaceae and its edible grain. Grown in a variety of environments, barley is the fourth largest grain crop globally, after wheat, rice, and corn. In addition, barley is very well known as a model crop for plant breeding methodology, genetics, cytogenetics, pathology, virology and biotechnology studies. Barley is mainly produced in unfavorable climate and soil conditions of the world. It’s versatile utility mainly for animal feed and food and superiority for malt and beer industry as a raw material are the main reasons that enable barley to be a commonly cultivated crop plant over centuries.

Nutritional value

Barley is a good source of nutrients and antioxidants. In fact, a cup of this whole grain contains 22 grams of protein, 61mg of calcium, 245mg of magnesium, 486mg of phosphorus, 832mg of potassium and 69mcg of selenium. It is also rich in copper, manganese, lutein and zeaxanthin.

Barley has a nutlike flavor and is high in carbohydrates, with moderate quantities of protein, calcium, and phosphorus and small amounts of the B vitamins. Because it contains little gluten, an elastic protein substance, it cannot be used to make a flour that will produce a porous loaf of bread. Barley flour is used to make an unleavened type, or flatbread, and to make porridge, especially in North Africa and parts of Asia, where it is a staple food grain. Pearl barley, the most popular form in many parts of the world, consists of whole kernels from which the outer husk and part of the bran layer have been removed by a polishing process. It is added to soups. Barley has a soft straw, used mostly as bedding for livestock and as a feed providing bulk roughage.

Kinds of Barley

Barley nutrition today comes in all forms possible. The grain, the leaves and the extract of barley are all used as food sources. Here are some of the most widely used forms of barley nutrition:

Hulled barley: Barley in its hulled form contains the most amount of nutrients.However, hulled barley takes a lot more time to soak when used with usual dishes.
Barley Grass: Barley grass, most especially on the young leaves, are excellent sources of vitamins, minerals, amino acids and antioxidants. Though it does not contain as much dietary fiber as can be found in barley grains, it contains chlorophyll which can help detoxify our body from harmful toxins.
Barley Green Powder: Due to the superior medicinal benefits of barley, many companies now produce barley powder which are made from pure barley grass. Most of them have delightful flavors and superior solubility that people take them as barley juice.
Barley Flour: Flour made from barley can be used as substitute for wheat flour or even cake flour. The flour that is produced from whole barley is a lot more nutritious than flour from pearl barley mainly because the bran in the former is still left intact.
Barley Water: The main claimed benefit of barley water is in supporting the kidneys especially in times of stress. It is also used as a therapeutic water for those who have kidney and bladder ailments.
Pearl Barley: Pearl barley is what you can find in groceries. These are hulled barley which have been processed to remove the bran.

Uses

Barley grain has three major uses: livestock feed, raw material for alcohol and starch production, and food.
Barley is of utmost importance for livestock feeding, which accounts for about 85% of barley production.
Six-row barleys, which have higher protein content, are a valuable feed ingredient.
Two-row barleys contain more starch and less protein and are thus preferred for brewing (barley with more than 11.5% protein causes beer cloudiness)
Barley grain is used for the production of alcohol (beer, whisky and ethanol), non-alcoholic beverages (barley tea, breakfast beverages)
Food products include starch flour, flakes and pearled barley and it is a staple food in several countries including Morocco, India, China and Ethiopia
The by-products of barley grain processing are used as feed: brewer’s grains, brewer’s yeast, malt culms (barley sprouts and rootlets), barley distillers and solubles, hulls, bran and barley feed (the by-product of pearl barley production).
Barley forage can be fed to livestock as pasture, hay or silage.
Barley straw is also used as fodder for ruminants and as bedding material.

Health benefits