Glucosidase Inhibitors: New approaches to malting efficiency

葡萄糖苷酶抑制剂：提高麦芽效率的新方法

• 批准号: BB/I017569/1
• 负责人: David Cook
• 金额: $ 8.6万
• 依托单位: University of Nottingham
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Research Grant
• 财政年份: 2011
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2011 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=BB%2FI017569%2F1
• 关键词: Glucosidase; Inhibitors; New; approaches; malting

The brewing and distilling industries are of enormous economic importance to the UK. They have a major impact on farming because they use almost 2M tonnes of UK-grown barley (about one third of the crop, occupying one third of a million hectares of land) every year, they provide employment for tens of thousands of people, and their products are enjoyed not only in the UK but in many countries around the world. There is strong pressure on the industry to increase the efficiency with which barley grain is converted into beer and whisky. This is in part to maintain profitability, but also to reduce the production of waste and the amount of energy used in the conversion process. The basic conversion process occurs in four main stages. First, during malting, the barley grains are soaked in water then allowed to start to germinate. Inside the germinating grain, enzymes are produced that can convert the starch stored in the grain to sugars. Second, during kilning, the grain is heated to dry it out so that germination stops. Third, the grain is milled then mixed with hot water. During this mashing process, the enzymes convert the starch to sugars. Finally, the sugar-containing liquid is drained off and yeast is added. The yeast converts the sugars to alcohol. One of the major losses during the conversion of grain to beer and whisky occurs during malting. As soon as the enzymes are produced, they start to convert starch to sugars inside the seed, and the sugars fuel the growth of rootlets. Thus some of the starch store is lost before the mashing stage, reducing the potential yield of alcohol and resulting in the production of unwanted rootlets. This loss is between 5% and 10% of the starch. In the context of a market value of £20bn for the brewing industry alone, even a small reduction in the extent of starch loss during malting would have huge economic benefits. Because of the economic importance of this malting loss, several different methods to prevent rootlet growth have been tested. However these have not been applied commercially, because of cost, toxicity, or adverse effects on the quality of the malt. We have discovered that both rootlet growth and starch loss in germinating barley seeds can be reduced or prevented by the application of tiny amounts of natural plant products, called iminosugars. These products have the potential to reduce malting losses without undesirable side effects. Understanding how they work inside the seed will also provide new information that will help in developing better varieties of barley for brewing and distilling. In this project we will test natural products in a 'micromalting' system that mimics real malting, and identify which ones are suitable for commercial trials. We will use biochemical and molecular methods to discover precisely how these products prevent the growth of rootlets, and the loss of starch. This information will enable us to identify genes in barley that are important in determining the malting quality of the grain. To ensure that our research is relevant to the needs of the brewing and distilling industries, we will regularly consult an Advisory Panel that includes an expert on these industries, and also experts on barley grain germination, plant natural products, and malting.

酿造和蒸馏行业对英国具有巨大的经济重要性。他们对农业有重大影响，因为他们每年使用近200万吨的英国大麦（大约三分之一的农作物，占地三分之一，占地三分之一），他们为成千上万的人提供就业机会，他们的产品不仅在英国享受在英国，而且在世界各地的许多国家 /地区享受。该行业的压力很大，要求提高大麦谷物转化为啤酒和威士忌的效率。这部分是可维护性的，但也是减少废物的产生和转换过程中使用的能量量。基本转换过程分为四个主要阶段。首先，在麦芽中，大麦谷物被浸入水中，然后开始发芽。在发芽的谷物内部，产生可以将存储在谷物中的淀粉转化为糖的酶。其次，在杀死过程中，将谷物加热以将其干燥，从而使发芽停止。第三，将谷物与热水混合。在此捣碎过程中，酶将淀粉转化为糖。最后，将含糖的液体排出并添加酵母。酵母将糖转化为酒精。在麦芽麦芽中转化为啤酒和威士忌期间的主要损失之一。一旦产生酶，它们就会开始将淀粉转化为种子内的糖，糖为根的生长增添了生长。在捣碎阶段之前，某些淀粉商店丢失了，降低了酒精的潜在产量并导致了不良根的产生。这种损失在淀粉的5％至10％之间。仅在酿造行业的市场价值为200亿英镑的背景下，即使在麦芽麦饮食期间淀粉损失程度的减少也将带来巨大的经济利益。由于这种磨损损失的经济重要性，已经测试了几种防止根生长的方法。但是，由于成本，毒性或对麦芽质量的不利影响，这些这些尚未商业应用。我们发现，通过应用少量的天然植物产品（称为iminosugars），可以减少或阻止发芽大麦种子中的根生长和淀粉损失。这些产品有可能减少没有不良副作用的磨损损失。了解它们在种子中的工作方式还将提供新的信息，这些信息将有助于开发更好的大麦品种进行酿造和蒸馏。在这个项目中，我们将测试模仿实际麦片的“微透明”系统中的天然产品，并确定哪些适合商业试验。我们将使用生化和分子方法准确地发现这些产品如何阻止茎的生长以及淀粉的丧失。这些信息将使我们能够识别大麦的基因，这些基因在确定谷物的麦芽质量中很重要。为了确保我们的研究与酿造和蒸馏行业的需求相关，我们将定期咨询包括这些行业专家的咨询小组，以及大麦谷物发芽，植物天然产品和麦芽的专家。

项目成果

Cell wall degradation is required for normal starch mobilisation in barley endosperm.

• DOI: 10.1038/srep33215
• 发表时间: 2016-09-13
• 期刊: Scientific reports
• 影响因子: 4.6
• 作者: Andriotis VM;Rejzek M;Barclay E;Rugen MD;Field RA;Smith AM
• 通讯作者: Smith AM