A team of scientists at the University of Adelaide, Australia, has discovered a new complex carbohydrate in the barley (Hordeum vulgare), the world’s fourth most important cereal crop after wheat, rice and maize. Barley (Hordeum vulgare). Image credit: Kang B.C.H. The newly-discovered polysaccharide is a mix of glucose, commonly found in cellulose, and xylose, which is found in dietary fiber. Based on the relative proportions of each sugar, the...
