Health-conscious consumers are the target of a new study toward a faster, more accurate test for beta-glucan levels in oats and barley.

Researchers at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s Cereal Research Centre in Winnipeg are developing a test that allows plant breeders to quickly select cereal germplasm with high levels of beta-glucans, the cell wall plant components that have been shown to reduce the risk of heart disease in humans.

This three-year study is supported in part by the Endowment Fund, administered by Western Grains Research Foundation.

"There is a growing consumer awareness of the nutritional content of foods and an increasing demand for healthy food," says lead researcher Dr. Christof Rampitsch. "This creates opportunities to develop new crop varieties enriched in nutraceuticals."

A major obstacle toward this goal is the lack of a rapid screening assay for plant breeders to use early on in the selection process, he says. In the study, researchers will develop an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) to fill this need. "This assay would be ideal as it is rapid, inexpensive and reliable, and could replace expensive and cumbersome tests currently used."

An improved test is essential for plant breeders to tailor beta-glucan levels for different markets, he says. For example, while high beta glucan levels add value to food cereals, in malting barley they interfere with the brewing process.

"Producers need high quality food oat and barley, and malting barley varieties to maintain premium markets," says Rampitsch. "An improved beta-glucan test would bring superior varieties to the field more quickly."

Health-conscious consumers have a growing appetite for soluble fibre from oat bran and other oat products, and increasingly from barley products, to reduce serum cholesterol levels, he says. Major oat processors such as General Mills and Quaker Oats have stated that improved beta-glucan levels in Canadian oats would significantly improve their marketing efforts. At the same time, low prices for milling wheat and for feed barley have led to a marked expansion in oat production for U.S. food markets, and in barley production for domestic maltsters and export markets.

Considering these trends, the ELISA would be a timely addition to Canada’s plant breeding arsenal, he says. This simple test shows a color change in proportion to the amount of beta-glucan in a sample. To build this test for use in cereals, the researchers must develop a monoclonal antibody directed against specific beta glucan components.

"Preliminary research with polyclonal antibodies show promising results under laboratory conditions," says Rampitsch. The new study will further develop the system, with an emphasis on making it as accurate and easy to use as possible. The ELISA has potential to assay hundreds to thousands of seeds per day, allowing cereal breeders to evaluate a much broader range of plant material.

Western Grains Research Foundation’s Endowment Fund has contributed over $17 million to nearly 200 crop research projects in Western Canada since its inception in 1983.