Impact of variety and environmental factors on proteolytic quality parameters of selected malting barley varieties.

IF 4 2区农林科学 Q1 AGRICULTURE, MULTIDISCIPLINARY

Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture Pub Date : 2026-11-01 Epub Date: 2026-07-07 DOI:10.1002/jsfa.70866

Shari Piro, Martina Gastl, Michael Féchir

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Background: Barley (Hordeum vulgare) is a major cereal crop, essential for global food processing and brewing. Malting barley represents less than one-fifth of global barley output due to strict quality requirements, such as total protein content, enzymatic activity, and kernel homogeneity, which directly influence malting performance and, consequently, beer quality. Despite enormous progress in breeding for agronomic performance and grain quality, increasing climate variability poses significant challenges to malting barley production, affecting both yield and quality. An understanding of the ways in which environmental and genotypic factors influence protein composition is critical to ensure consistent malt quality. This study analyzed malt quality data from 7458 malt batches representing six commercial malting barley varieties harvested between 2017 and 2024 across three European regions to quantify, evaluate, and contextualize the effects of environmental and genotypic factors on key proteolytic quality parameters, including total protein content, soluble nitrogen (SN), free amino nitrogen (FAN), and the Kolbach index (KI).

Results: Proteolytic parameters (PPs) followed a sequential cascade from total protein to SN and FAN. Total protein varied mainly among harvest year × variety combinations, whereas SN and FAN showed pronounced temporal declines, particularly during 2021-2024. Varieties 1 and 5 combined high SN with high FAN, whereas variety 3 consistently showed the lowest values. Variety 6 displayed the highest FAN despite intermediate SN, indicating genotype-specific proteolytic efficiency. The KI showed low variability and confirmed classification into high- and moderate modification groups. Regional effects were minor.

Conclusion: The decline in SN and FAN in more recent years, despite variable protein levels, indicates that protein quality is a more important determinant of malt performance than total protein quantity alone. This cascade-oriented perspective provides a clearer interpretation of quality variation in malting barley and supports more informed decisions regarding variety selection and raw-material management. © 2026 The Author(s). Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Chemical Industry.

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品种和环境因素对大麦蛋白水解品质参数的影响

背景：大麦（Hordeum vulgare）是一种主要的谷类作物，对全球食品加工和酿造至关重要。由于严格的质量要求，如总蛋白质含量、酶活性和籽粒均匀性，麦芽占全球大麦产量的不到五分之一，这些要求直接影响到麦芽的性能，从而影响到啤酒的质量。尽管在农艺性能和谷物品质育种方面取得了巨大进展，但日益加剧的气候变化对麦芽生产构成了重大挑战，影响了产量和质量。了解环境和基因型因素影响蛋白质组成的方式对于确保一致的麦芽质量至关重要。本研究分析了2017年至2024年间在欧洲三个地区收获的7458批麦芽的麦芽质量数据，这些麦芽代表了六种商业麦芽品种，以量化、评估环境和基因型因素对关键蛋白质水解质量参数的影响，包括总蛋白含量、可溶性氮（SN）、游离氨基氮（FAN）和科尔巴赫指数（KI）。结果：蛋白水解参数（PPs）遵循从总蛋白到SN和FAN的顺序级联。总蛋白主要在收获年×品种组合间发生变化，而SN和FAN在时间上呈明显下降趋势，尤其是在2021-2024年间。品种1和品种5同时具有高SN和高FAN，而品种3始终呈现最低值。品种6显示出最高的FAN，尽管中间SN，表明基因型特异性蛋白水解效率。KI表现出低变异性，并被确定为高和中等修改组。区域性影响较小。结论：尽管蛋白质水平变化，但近年来SN和FAN的下降表明蛋白质质量比总蛋白质含量更重要。这种以级联为导向的视角为酿酒大麦的质量变化提供了更清晰的解释，并支持在品种选择和原料管理方面做出更明智的决定。©2026作者。约翰威利父子有限公司代表化学工业协会出版的《食品与农业科学杂志》。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture 工程技术-农业综合

CiteScore

8.10

自引率

4.90%

发文量

634

审稿时长

3.1 months

期刊介绍： The Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture publishes peer-reviewed original research, reviews, mini-reviews, perspectives and spotlights in these areas, with particular emphasis on interdisciplinary studies at the agriculture/ food interface. Published for SCI by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. SCI (Society of Chemical Industry) is a unique international forum where science meets business on independent, impartial ground. Anyone can join and current Members include consumers, business people, environmentalists, industrialists, farmers, and researchers. The Society offers a chance to share information between sectors as diverse as food and agriculture, pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, materials, chemicals, environmental science and safety. As well as organising educational events, SCI awards a number of prestigious honours and scholarships each year, publishes peer-reviewed journals, and provides Members with news from their sectors in the respected magazine, Chemistry & Industry . Originally established in London in 1881 and in New York in 1894, SCI is a registered charity with Members in over 70 countries.