Variation in In Vitro Digestibility of Barley Protein

In vitro digestibility of protein was measured with pepsin/pancreatin in 321 spring barley lines grown in the field. The variation in digestibility was far less than the variation in the protein content. A small environmental influence on the digestibility was found. Two entries had slightly impaired digestibilities; these findings were partially verified in a repeated field trial, but were not confirmed in vivo. In vitro digestibilities of barleys grown in pots at various N-levels were positively correlated with protein or hordein content. In vitro digestibility was negatively correlated with the fibre content in decortification fractions of Bomi and the high-lysine mutant Risø 1508. The digestibility was positively correlated with the hordein concentration for the Bomi fractions, but not for the 1508 fractions.