Arabinoxylans and β-glucans assessment in cereals

Arabinoxylans (AX) and ß-glucans are the major source of soluble dietary fibre in cereals and have a significant role as functional/bioactive ingredients implicated in lowering plasma cholesterol, postprandial blood glucose and improving lipid metabolism. In this work, the variation in the content and solubility of AX and ß-glucans in different cereal species and varieties were studied. Different methods (phloroglucinol, orcinol-HCl, HPAEC-PAD) for AX analysis were tested. The results confirmed the variability in contents of both polymers (AX and ß-glucans) in cereal species and varieties as well as providing additional information useful for their characterization.