Comparison and quality evaluation of hull-less and covered Brazilian barley for food industry application

Barley has a wide range of end uses. However, the technological characteristics expected from barley present different standards according to the destination of the cereal. Grain ?-glucan content is the most important attribute for varieties destined for the food market due to blood glucose and cholesterol-reducing properties. High protein content, test weight, and huller rate may also add value to different end uses. In Brazil, the main destination for barley is malt production; however, not every lot achieves malting standards. To determine the quality of Brazilian barley for food industries, 9 covered barley cultivars and 8 hull-less barley breeding lines were studied. Thousand kernel weight (TKW), hectoliter weight (HW), huller rate (HR), protein, and ?-glucan contents were analyzed. The hull-less breeding lines presented higher averages when compared to the covered group, except in protein content. Correlations between “?-glucan and HW”, “?-glucan and TKW”, and “TKW and HW” were positive. On the other hand, “HW and protein content” and “?-glucan and protein content” presented a negative correlation. There are bromatological quality differences between Brazilian hull-less breeding lines and covered varieties. Brazilian barley germplasm presents great industrial potential, not only for malt production and animal feed but also for human food applications.