Purification, Preliminary Structural Characterization, and In Vitro Inhibitory Effect on Digestive Enzymes by β-Glucan from Qingke (Tibetan Hulless Barley)‎

Abstract EN

Background and Objective.

Qingke (Tibetan hulless barley, Hordeum vulgare L.) contains a high content of β-glucan among all the cereal varieties.

Although β-glucan has multiple physiological functions, the physiological function of qingke β-glucan was few studied.

In this study, the β-glucan was isolated, purified, determined the structural characterization, and measured the inhibitory activity to enzymes correlating blood sugar and lipid.

Methods.

β-Glucan was isolated from enzymatic aqueous extract of qingke by using deproteinization, decolorization, DEAE-52 column chromatography, and sepharose CL-4B agarose gel column chromatography.

The structure of the β-glucan was determined using FT-IR and 13C-NMR spectra analysis, and molecular mass by use of HPSEC-dRI-LS.

The kinematic viscosity was measured.

The inhibitory effects of this β-glucan on four enzymes were investigated.

Results.

This β-glucan had a uniform molecular weight of 201,000 Da with β-(1⟶4) as the main chain and β-(1⟶3) as a side chain.

The β-glucan presented a relatively strong inhibitory activity on α-glucosidase, moderate inhibition on invertase, and a weak inhibition on α-amylase, whereas it did not inhibit lipase.

Conclusion.

The study indicates that the enzymatic β-glucan from qingke has the potential as natural auxiliary hypoglycemic additives in functional medicine or foods.