Barley has high nutritional value and medicinal value. In addition to being rich in high-quality protein, carbohydrate, fat, mineral elements and vitamins, it is also rich in polysaccharides, fatty acids and their esters, flavonoids, triterpenoids, etc. A variety of active ingredients have the functions of lowering blood sugar, anti-tumor, scavenging free radicals, etc. Therefore, barley can be used as both food and medicine.
Nutrition Facts The six major nutrients in carbohydrate barley are complete. According to the determination, carbohydrates are the main energy-supplying substances in barley, with a content of about 65%, second only to rice, wheat, corn and other cereal crops, of which the main component is starch, with uniform particle size and regular shape, mostly oval or Truncated oval, the crystalline structure of starch granules belongs to A type, which is difficult to gelatinize, has low transparency and poor thermal stability, but has strong cold paste stability and is easily digested by the human body, which can reduce the burden on the stomach and enhance physical fitness. The protein protein content is about 17%, which exists between the starch granules of the endosperm cells, of which 20% of the protein is divided into three categories, namely albumin and gluten, prolamin, and the rest. The protein content of barley is higher than that of rice noodles, which has important nutritional value and important health care functions. The 18 kinds of amino acids are relatively complete, of which the essential amino acids are about 4.99%. The content of glutamic acid in the seeds is relatively high, which belongs to the characteristic amino acid of umami. Moreover, glutamic acid is an important amino acid in the biochemical metabolism of brain tissue, so barley protein Belongs to high-quality protein. The fat content is about 5%, which is nearly 30 times higher than that of rice, mainly neutral lipids (triacylglycerol>90%, diglyceride about 5%), and 2 oil body protein subunits (H- lipoprotein, L-lipoprotein) and an oleocalcin. The content of unsaturated fatty acids in barley is relatively high, such as oleic acid and linoleic acid, accounting for 51.6% and 32.2% of the total fatty acids, respectively. These unsaturated acids have functions such as relieving excess cholesterol in the blood, enhancing cell membrane permeability, preventing myocardial tissue aging, and preventing arteriosclerosis. Trace element vitamins In addition to the three most basic energy substances, barley also contains a variety of trace elements necessary for the human body, such as Ca, Mg, P, Fe, Zn, etc. Among them, the content of Ca and Mg is relatively high. Ca can prevent cramps, osteoporosis, etc.; Zn can activate superoxide dismutase (SOD) in the human body, so it can remove lipid peroxides that easily cause human aging; Fe and Mg are necessary for basic biochemical reactions of various cells in the body substance, and the Mg content is 2-3 times higher than that of rice. There are relatively few types of vitamins in barley, mainly vitamin B group, and a small amount of VE, which has cosmetic effects such as smoothing the skin, reducing wrinkles, and eliminating spots. VB1 can also treat athlete's foot, reduce skin inflammation and other reactions.
Active ingredient polysaccharide According to research, barley polysaccharide can reduce blood sugar in diabetic mice caused by alloxan, that is, barley has the activity of lowering blood sugar. According to existing research, its principle may be to inhibit liver glycogenolysis, muscle glycogenolysis and Inhibition of gluconeogenesis; Coix seed polysaccharide has immune stimulating effect, which can significantly increase the phagocytic percentage and phagocytic index of peritoneal macrophages in immunocompromised mice, promote the formation of hemolysin and hemolytic plaques, and promote lymphocyte transformation. Barley polysaccharide can also scavenge free radicals such as OH and O2- in the body and play an antioxidant role. The anti-tumor activity of the fatty acid and its ester compound barley oil has long been recognized. In particular, the Kanglaite injection made of barley oil has become a marketed drug and is used to treat malignant tumors such as pancreatic cancer and colon cancer. After a large number of experimental studies, it is believed that its active ingredients are fatty acids and their esters. Japanese scholar Nakayama Zongchun fed the mice with ascites cancer by feeding the acetone extract of barley degreasing with ether to prolong the survival time of the mice. Then, after GC analysis, it was found that the active ingredients were acidic fatty acids, namely palmitic acid and stearic acid. , oleic acid, linoleic acid. Tokuta H et al. also isolated other antitumor active ingredients, such as coix seed ester and monolinolenic ester. The anti-cancer mechanism of these active ingredients is generally to inhibit the expression of certain genes, such as the expression of cyclooxygenase-2, or inhibit the activity of certain enzymes, such as the activity of fatty acid synthase, so as to achieve the effect of tumor suppressor. Phenolic Compounds Polyphenols are a class of compounds composed of one or more aromatic rings combined with one or more hydroxyl groups. The hydroxyl groups on the benzene ring can easily lose hydrogen electrons, so phenolic compounds can be used as good electron donors. Thereby exerting antioxidant function. The phenolic compounds in barley are combined with proteins, carbohydrates, etc. through hydrogen bonds, hydrophobic bond interactions or covalent bonds, and are mainly divided into free and bound types according to the degree of binding. Free phenols mainly include free flavonoids, phenolic acids, stilbene, lignans, etc., and bound phenols mainly include proanthocyanidins, insoluble phenolic acids, condensed tannins, etc., which are combined with cell wall components cellulose, lipids, etc. Other matrices such as proteins are tightly bound. The phenolic compounds in barley are extracted by the Folin phenol method, and the main components are p-coumaric acid, ferulic acid, vanillin, pepsin, rutin, etc. A study has proved that it has a strong scavenging ability to free radicals, and can play an antioxidant role, which can be used in functional foods or preservatives; in addition, flavonoids in barley (such as eriocyclin) can inhibit the group. The release of amines has an anti-inflammatory effect. Other active substances In addition to the above active ingredients, barley has many kinds, such as indene compounds, which have antibacterial effects on bacteria, yeast, fungi, etc.; sterols such as feruloyl stigmasterol and feruloyl brassicasterol can inhibit progesterone in the body The formation of glutathione, thereby promoting ovulation, patients with refractory anovulation can significantly improve the symptoms of patients after taking barley seed as the main drug; Anti-aging effect, can be used in revitalizing essence cosmetics to enhance the skin's anti-aging function, make the skin smooth and delicate, and significantly reduce the formation of facial wrinkles.