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Botanical Name: Hordeum distichon (LINN.)
Family: N.O. Graminaceae/Poaceae
Subfamily: Pooideae
Kingdom: Plantae
Order: Poales
Tribe: Triticeae
Genus: Hordeum
Species: H. vulgare
Synonyms:  Pearl Barley. Perlatum.
Part Used: Decorticated seeds.
Habitat: Britain.

Description:Barley is a cereal grain derived from the annual grass Hordeum vulgare. It serves as a major animal feed crop, with smaller amounts used for malting and in health food, as well as the making of the alcoholic beverages beer and whisky. In 2005 ranking of cereal crops in the world, barley was fourth in quantity produced and in area of cultivation (560,000 km²). It is still used as a food staple in the middle east.
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It is a member of the grass family. The domesticated form (H. vulgare) is descended from wild barley (H. spontaneum) and they are inter-fertile. The two forms are therefore often treated as one species, Hordeum vulgare, divided into subspecies spontaneum (wild) and subspecies vulgare (domesticated). The main difference between the two forms is the brittle spike on the seeds of the spontaneum, which assists dispersal.

Pearl Barley is the grain without its skin; rounded and polished; this is the official variety. Taste and odour farinaceous. The Scotch, milled, or pot barley isthe grain with husks only partly removed. Patent Barley is the ground decorticated grain.

Cultivation:-
Barley is more tolerant of soil salinity than wheat, which might explain the increase of barley cultivation on Mesopotamia from the 2nd millennium BC onwards. Barley is not as cold tolerant as the winter wheats (Triticum aestivum), fall rye (Secale cereale) or winter Triticale (× Triticosecale Wittm. ex A. Camus.), but may be sown as a winter crop in warmer areas of the world such as Australia.

Barley has a short growing season and is also relatively drought tolerant

Constituents: Pearl Barley contains about 80 per cent of starch and about 6 per cent of proteins, cellulose, etc.

The Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition (1910–1911) cites the following composition of barley meal according to Ernst von Bibra, omitting the salts:

*Water 15%
*Nitrogenous compounds 12.981%
*Gum 6.744%
*Sugar 3.200%
*Starch 59.950%
*Fat 2.170%

Uses

Algicide….
Barley straw, in England, is placed in mesh bags and floated in fish ponds or water gardens to help reduce algal growth without harming pond plants and animals. Barley straw has not been approved by the EPA for use as a pesticide and its effectiveness as an algaecide in ponds has produced mixed results during university testing in the US and England.

Animal feed…
Half of the United States‘ barley production is used as an animal feed. Barley is an important feed grain in many areas of the world not typically suited for maize production, especially in northern climates. Barley is the principal feed grain in Canada, Europe, and in the northern United States

Alcoholic beverages:..
A large part of the remainder is used for malting, for which barley is the best suited grain. It is a key ingredient in beer and whisky production. Two-row barley is traditionally used in German and English beers. Six-row barley was traditionally used in US beers, but both varieties are in common usage now. Distilled from green beer, whisky has been made from barley in Ireland and Scotland, while other countries have utilized more diverse sources of alcohol; such as the more common corn, rye and molasses in the USA. The grain name may be applied to the alcohol if it constitutes 51% or more of the ingredients.

Non-alcoholic drinks...
Barley water  and barley tea (called mugicha in Japan), have been made by boiling barley in water. Barley wine was an alcoholic drink made in the 1700s, prepared from recipes of ancient Greek origin. It was prepared by boiling barley in water, the water from the barley was then mixed with white wine, and other ingredients like borage, lemon and sugar were added.

Food:..
Barley contains all eight essential amino acids. According to a recent study, eating whole grain barley can regulate blood sugar for up to 10 hours after consumption compared to white or even whole-grain wheat, which has a similar glycemic index. Barley can also be used as a coffee substitute.

Hulled barley (or covered barley) is eaten after removing the inedible, fibrous outer hull. Once removed, it is called dehulled barley (or pot barley or scotch barley). Considered a whole grain, dehulled barley still has its bran and germ making it a nutritious and popular health food. Pearl barley (or pearled barley) is dehulled barley which has been steam processed further to remove the bran. It may be polished, a process known as “pearling”. Dehulled or pearl barley may be processed into a variety of barley products, including flour, flakes similar to oatmeal, and grits.

Barley-meal, a wholemeal barley flour which is lighter than wheatmeal but darker in colour, is used in porridge and gruel in Scotland. Barley-meal gruel is known as Sawiq in the Arab world. With a long history of cultivation in the Middle East, barley is used in a wide range of traditional Arabic, Kurdish, Persian, and Turkish foodstuffs including kashkak, kashk and murri. Barley soup is traditionally eaten during Ramadan in Saudi Arabia. It is also used in soups and stews in Eastern Europe. In Africa, where it is a traditional food plant, it has the potential to improve nutrition, boost food security, foster rural development and support sustainable landcare.

The six row variety bere is cultivated in Orkney, Shetland, Caithness and the Western Isles in the Scottish Highlands and islands. The grain is used to make beremeal, used locally in bread, biscuits, and the traditional beremeal bannock.

Measurement:
Barley grains were used for measurement in England, there being 3 or 4 barleycorns to the inch and 4 or 5 poppy seeds to the barleycorn. The statute definition of an inch was 3 barleycorns, although by the 19th century this had been superseded by standard inch measures. This unit still persists in the shoe sizes which are used in Britain and the USA.

The barleycorn was known as arpa in Turkish, and the feudal system in Turkey employed the term Arpalik, or “barley-money”, to refer to a second allowance made to officials to offset the costs of fodder for their horses

Medicinal Action and Uses: Pearl Barley is used for the preparation of a decoction which is a nutritive and demulcent drink in febrile conditions and in catarrhal affections of the respiratory and urinary organs: barley water is used to dilute cows’ milk for young infants, it prevents the formation of hard masses of curd in the stomach. Malt is produced from barley by a process of steeping and drying which develop a ferment ‘diatase’ needed for the production of alcoholic malt liquors, but in the form of Malt Extract it is largely used in medicine. Vinegar is an acid liquid produced by oxidation of fermented malt wort. Malt vinegar is the only vinegar that should be used medicinally.

Dosage and Preparation:  Barley water. Pearl Barley washed 10 parts, water to 100 parts, boil for 20 minutes, strain. Dose, 1 to 4 oz.

Barley is used as a medicine for many different diseases. In the religion of Islam, the Prophet Muhammad prescribed it for seven diseases.

Hadith Volume 7, Book 71, Number 593: (Narrated ‘Ursa) Aisha used to recommend At-Talbina for the sick and for such a person as grieved over a dead person. She used to say, “I heard Allah’s Apostle saying, ‘At-Talbina gives rest to the heart of the patient and makes it active and relieves some of his sorrow and grief.’ ”

Known in Arabic as At-Talbina, it was narrated in Islam that it helped people who lose others to death and controls grief. Illnesses include high cholesterol levels, heart disease, treatment of cancer and slowing of age, treatment for diabetes and hypertension, as well as soothing and calming effects for the bowel. Avicenna in his 11th century work The Canon of Medicine wrote of the healing effects of barley water, soup and broth for fevers

Adulterants: Pearl Barley is sometimes treated with french chalk and starch to whiten it and increase the weight.

Disclaimer:The information presented herein is intended for educational purposes only. Individual results may vary, and before using any supplements, it is always advisable to consult with your own health care provider

Resources:

http://www.botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/b/barley15.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barley

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