Characteristics of Oil from Hulless Barley (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Hordeum vulgare</Emphasis> L.) Bran from Tibet

The bran of hulless barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) from Tibet was investigated. This paper reports on the physicochemical characteristics, lipid classes and fatty acids of the oil from the bran. The petroleum (60–90 °C) extract of hulless barley bran was found to be 8.1%. The investigated physiochemical parameters included density at 40 °C (0.96 g/cm³), refractive index at 40 °C (1.41), melting point (30.12 °C), acid value (11.6 mg KOH/g), peroxide value (19.41 μg/g), saponification value (337.62 mg KOH/g), iodine value (113.51 mg iodine/g) and unsaponifiable matter (4.5% of total lipids).The amount of neutral lipids in the crude oil was the highest (94.55% of total lipids), followed by glycolipids (4.20% of the total lipid) and phospholipids (1.25% of the total lipid). Linoleic acid (75.08% of total fatty acids) followed by palmitic acid (20.58% of total fatty acids), were the two major fatty acids in the oil. The results show that the oil from the hulless barley bran could be a good source of valuable essential fatty acids.