Black highland barley as a characteristic grain of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau: profile on its nutritional functional properties and food processing applications.
- 2026-04
- Food research international (Ottawa, Ont.) 229
- Xiaonan Yan
- Hang Yuan
- Yuehang Yang
- Tian Zhou
- Dongyan Zhou
- Jianxin Tan
- Jian Li
- Dabing Xiang
- Changying Liu
- Yuanmou Tang
- Xiaoqin Zheng
- Lianxin Peng
- Liang Zou
- Yuanhang Ren
- Yan Wan
- PubMed: 41763815
- DOI: 10.1016/j.foodres.2026.118493
Study Design
- Type
- Review
Black highland barley (BHB) is a distinctive grain from the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. It is recognized for its exceptional nutritional value and bioactive components, which align with contemporary healthy dietary trends, attracting global attention. Compared to common HB, BHB generally possesses higher nutritional content, with abundant levels of β-glucan and phenolic compounds, which endow it with multiple physiological functions, rendering it a raw material for modern health-oriented diets. Nevertheless, its potential for food processing and development remains underutilized. A thorough understanding of the nutritional and functional components of BHB is essential for promoting its high-value utilization. This paper systematically integrates information on the composition and physicochemical properties of the major nutrients in BHB. It elucidates their potential functional benefits for human health, such as mitigating hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and hyperglycemia, as well as providing antioxidant effects. Additionally, it summarizes the current applications of BHB in everyday diets, including flour products, BHB wine, and functional foods. It organizes various production and processing technologies to maximize nutritional functionality and enhance processing efficiency. This paper aims to highlight the rich nutritional functional value of BHB and its health potential, thereby demonstrating the feasibility of developing more BHB-based nutritional functional products to meet growing consumer demand for nutritionally functional cereal foods.