Isolation of barley hulls and straw constituents and study of emulsifying properties of their arabinoxylans

•Functional arabinoxylans (AX) were isolated from barley hulls and straws.•Barley hulls contained more AX than barley straws.•AX from barley straws were better emulsifiers than AX from barley hulls. Both barley hulls and straw contain valuable arabinoxylans and other useful carbohydrate and non-carbohydrate components. The functional water soluble non-caloric arabinoxylan (hemicellulose B) fraction was isolated from hot water-extracted and de-starched barley hulls and straws by an alkaline hydrogen peroxide extraction followed by ethanol precipitation. Barley hulls contained comparatively more Hemi. B (20.51%) than barley straws (7.41 to 12.94%). The sugar composition of Hemi. B showed that they were typical arabinoxylans containing (in addition to arabinose and xylose) some galactose, glucose and acidic sugars in the side chains. The hemicellulose B fractions from barley straws were superior oil-in-water emulsifiers than those from barley hulls. These Hemi. B fractions contain protein, which contributes to their emulsions stabilizing property.