High Fibre Grains Collaboration Cluster

The High Fibre Grains Collaboration Cluster is developing new grain varieties and tailoring fibre content to optimise health benefits to consumers and value to industry.

16 December 2010 | Updated 11 January 2012

The High Fibre Grains Collaboration Cluster will focus its research efforts on wheat, barley and rice. One of the primary research goals is to boost the amount of beneficial compounds, such as beta glucans and arabinoxylans, which are key contributors to the soluble component of dietary fibre in the various grains.

The High Fibre Grains Collaboration Cluster combines CSIRO’s Food Futures Flagship with the research capabilities of:

The University of Queensland
The University of Adelaide
The University of Melbourne.

Improving the fibre qualities of grains could have major health benefits for the wider population.

Research has shown that the beta glucans and arabinoxylans found in soluble fibre block the re-absorption of cholesterol from the gut so more of this cholesterol is lost naturally from the body during the digestive process. This is believed to contribute to the protective effects of wholegrains in lowering the risk of heart disease and stroke.

The High Fibre Grains Collaboration Cluster follows on from a previous Flagship Collaboration Cluster which was set up to investigate the biggest source of fibre in grains – non-starch polysaccharides (NSP) in the plant cell wall.

The successful three year program, which concluded in March 2010, focused on the functions of NSP, factors controlling their synthesis and improving the ability to manipulate their levels and composition in grains.