Parizat Heathcare Pvt. Ltd. - Food Grains

Botanical name:Hordeum vulgare

Barley is a major cereal grain, a member of the grass family. Barley is a wonderfully resourceful cereal grain with a rich nutlike flavor. Barley is a hearty plant, able to withstand many different growing conditions. Barley is good source of iron, selenium and niacin & protein.

Benefits and uses:

Sprouted barley is naturally high in maltose, a sugar that serves as the basis for both malt syrup sweeteners. When fermented, barley is used as an ingredient in beer and other alcoholic beverages.

It decreases the risk of colon cancer and hemorrhoids; barley's dietary fibre also provides food for the "friendly" bacteria in the large intestine. When these helpful bacteria ferment barley's insoluble fiber, they produce a short-chain fatty acid called butyric acid, which serves as the primary fuel for the cells of the large intestine and helps maintain a healthy colon. These helpful bacteria also create two other short-chain fatty acids, propionic and acetic acid, which are used as fuel by the cells of the liver and muscles.

The propionic acid produced from barley's insoluble fiber may also be partly responsible for the cholesterol-lowering properties of fiber. In animal studies, propionic acid has been shown to inhibit HMG-CoA reductase, an enzyme involved in the production of cholesterol by the liver. By lowering the activity of this enzyme, propionic acid helps lower blood cholesterol levels.

In addition, barley's dietary fiber is high in beta glucan, which helps to lower cholesterol by binding to bile acids and removing them from the body via the feces.

Barley is also a good source of niacin, a vitamin B that provides numerous protective actions against cardiovascular risk factors. Niacin can help reduce total cholesterol and lipoprotein levels.

Niacin may also help prevent free radicals from oxidizing LDL, which only becomes potentially harmful to blood vessel walls after oxidation.

Niacin can help reduce platelet aggregation, the clumping together of platelets that can result in the formation of blood clots.

Barley and other whole grains are a rich source of magnesium, a mineral that acts as a co-factor for more than 300 enzymes, including enzymes involved in the body's use of glucose and insulin secretion.

Barley, in various forms, is used in folk remedies for cancers and various other ailments; it is also easily digestible for invalids and convalescents; and barley straw is used for making hats, packaging, and pulp.

Botanical name:Zea mays

Zea mays, corn or maize, is annual grass in the Poaceae (grass family) that originated in Central America. The leafy stalk produces ears which contain the grain, which are seeds called kernels. Maize kernels are used in cooking as a starch. It is rich in vitamins like Thiamin (Vitamin B1), vitamin C, pantothenic acid (Vitamin B5). It is good source of fiber. Corn contains abundant phosphorus apart from magnesium, manganese, zinc, iron and copper. It also contains trace minerals like selenium.

Benefits and uses:

Cooked corn has significant antioxidant activity, which reduces the chance of heart disease and cancer.

It contains high fiber, which helps to fight digestive problems like constipation.

Corn starch is used in the production of many cosmetics and may also be applied to soothe skin rashes and irritations.

Corn products can be used to replace carcinogenic petroleum products which form major components of cosmetic preparations.

It makes an outstanding feed ingredient for livestock and poultry.