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Process for extraction of beta-glucan from cereals and products obtained therefromRelated Patent Categories: Food Or Edible Material: Processes, Compositions, And Products, Products Per Se, Or Processes Of Preparing Or Treating Compositions Involving Chemical Reaction By Addition, Combining Diverse Food Material, Or Permanent Additive, Carbohydrate ContainingProcess for extraction of beta-glucan from cereals and products obtained therefrom description/claimsThe Patent Description & Claims data below is from USPTO Patent Application 20070104858, Process for extraction of beta-glucan from cereals and products obtained therefrom. Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims
FIELD OF INVENTION [0001] This invention relates to a novel process for the extraction of .beta.-glucan from cereals, such as barley and oats. The invention also relates to .beta.-glucan products obtained from the process. The invention further relates to uses of those products as food ingredients and therapeutic agents. BACKGROUND [0002] The term ".beta.-glucan" refers to those polysaccharides which comprise D-glucopyranosyl units which are linked together by (1.fwdarw.3) or (1.fwdarw.4) linkages. .beta.-Glucans occur naturally in many cereal grains such as oats and barley. The molecular weight of .beta.-glucan molecules occurring in cereals is typically 200 to 2000 kiloDaltons. [0003] .beta.-Glucan is desirable as a food additive, for example, to impart texture ("mouth feel") to foods or useful as edible films for food coatings. .beta.-Glucan may also be used to add bulk to foods and has the advantage of having a neutral flavour. [0004] .beta.-Glucan is also desirable as a therapeutic agent. There is evidence that .beta.-glucan can lower serum cholesterol levels, heal wounds, moderate glycaemic response, and alleviate constipation. .beta.-Glucan can actively bind to specific cell receptors and therefore may be useful for the treatment of a wide variety of disorders or diseases. [0005] The known methods for extracting .beta.-glucan from cereal grains, such as oats and barley, involve several steps. Firstly, the cereal grain is milled to a flour prior to extracting .beta.-glucan from the flour using warm or hot water or an aqueous alkali solution. The milling step facilitates release of the .beta.-glucan from the cereal. The aqueous extract of .beta.-glucan is then separated from the solid flour residue. Finally, the .beta.-glucan is recovered from the extract. [0006] The known methods of recovering the .beta.-glucan from the aqueous extract include precipitation of the .beta.-glucan using a water miscible solvent, such as alcohol, or by freezing and then thawing the extract to give a precipitate of .beta.-glucan which can be recovered by filtration or centrifugation. The extraction of the .beta.-glucan itself from the cereal is not generally a costly process. However, the recovery of the .beta.-glucan from the extract is costly. This is due to the large amounts of water that must be removed to give solid .beta.-glucan. [0007] In addition, it is difficult to control the molecular weight of the .beta.-glucan product obtained from known processes. High molecular weight .beta.-glucan is preferable for certain uses. For example, high molecular weight .beta.-glucan is preferable for moderating glycaemic response and for lowering serum cholesterol levels. On the other hand, low molecular weight .beta.-glucan may be preferable as a food additive. For example, low molecular weight .beta.-glucan can form a gel having beneficial textural properties for processed foods. [0008] In order to obtain a high molecular weight .beta.-glucan product, previous methods of .beta.-glucan extraction from cereals have required that enzymes present in the cereal be deactivated prior to the extraction step. The enzymes are responsible for lowering .beta.-glucan molecular weight and are deactivated either by treating the flour with boiling ethanol/water mixtures or by treating the flour with an aqueous acid solution. SUMMARY OF INVENTION [0009] It is an object of this invention to provide a process for extracting .beta.-glucan from cereals and to provide a .beta.-glucan product obtained from the process, or at least to provide a useful alternative process or product. [0010] In one aspect of the invention there is provided a process for obtaining .beta.-glucan from cereal grain including: [0011] forming flour from the cereal grain; [0012] mixing the flour with water to form a slurry of an aqueous solution of .beta.-glucan and a solid residue; [0013] separating the aqueous solution from the solid residue; and [0014] removing water from the aqueous solution by evaporation or ultrafiltration or combinations thereof to form a .beta.-glucan containing gel or solid. [0015] Although the cereal used may be any cereal containing .beta.-glucan, the preferred cereal of the invention is barley or oats. [0016] It is preferred that the gel is formed from the aqueous solution of .beta.-glucan using any combination of the following steps: shearing, heating, cooling and freezing the solution. Shearing the solution may be by stirring the solution or by passing the solution down a pipe. The solution may also be heated and cooled to induce the formation of a gel. It is also preferred that the gel, once formed, is washed with water to remove starch or protein or starch or protein that may have been hydrolysed. The gel may also be frozen, for example by extrusion into a bath containing an aqueous solution of a salt where the temperature of the bath is below 0.degree. C. The frozen gel is removed from the bath and then thawed to give a more compact gel which is more readily isolated by filtration. The gel may then be dried by, for example, spray drying or hot roller drying. [0017] Preferably the step of milling the flour is carried out under dry conditions to enable the removal of starch from the cereal. Starch granules can be removed from the milled flour by sieving or by air classification. Alternatively, the cereal may be milled in the presence of either cold water or a mixture of ethanol and water to facilitate the removal of starch by standard methods. [0018] The invention therefore also provides a starch rich fraction obtained from the process of this invention and useful as an ingredient in processed foods, for malting, or as a feed for animals. [0019] It is preferred in the extraction step that the flour is mixed with water at a temperature greater than 25.degree. C. but less than approximately 65.degree. C. [0020] Preferably the aqueous solution of .beta.-glucan is separated from the solid residue by centrifugation or by filtration. [0021] The invention therefore also provides a solid residue obtained from this process and useful as an ingredient in processed foods, for malting, or as a feed for animals. [0022] The .beta.-glucan is preferably recovered from the aqueous solution by firstly concentrating the aqueous solution of .beta.-glucan. Concentration of the aqueous solution may be by evaporation, for example thin-film evaporation, or ultrafiltration. The product may then be dried, for example, by spray drying or hot roller drying to obtain a .beta.-glucan solid. [0023] Prior to concentrating the aqueous solution of .beta.-glucan, it is preferable to remove starch and/or protein impurities. Protein may be removed by heating the aqueous solution to above about 70.degree. C. causing the protein to precipitate which can then be removed by filtration or by decanting or by centrifugation. Alternatively, protein may be removed by adding a protease to the aqueous solution followed by ultrafiltration of the degraded protein. Another method of removing protein is to add a flocculent such as a carrageenan, for example .kappa.-carrageenan. Starch may also be removed by adding a starch degrading enzyme, such as an .alpha.-amylase, to the aqueous solution followed by ultrafiltration to remove the degraded starch. [0024] It is preferable during .beta.-glucan extraction to add an enzyme to reduce the average molecular weight of the .beta.-glucan. The enzyme is preferably a cellulase (for example, E.C. 3.2.1.4). [0025] It is also preferable during .beta.-glucan extraction to degrade any arabinoxylans present by adding an arabinoxylan degrading enzyme, for example, a xylanese. Continue reading about Process for extraction of beta-glucan from cereals and products obtained therefrom... Full patent description for Process for extraction of beta-glucan from cereals and products obtained therefrom Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims Click on the above for other options relating to this Process for extraction of beta-glucan from cereals and products obtained therefrom patent application. ###  How KEYWORD MONITOR works... a FREE service from FreshPatents1. Sign up (takes 30 seconds). 2. Fill in the keywords to be monitored. 3. Each week you receive an email with patent applications related to your keywords. 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