High fructan cereal plants

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9752157-B2
Application number	US-201113008746-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jan 18, 2011
Priority date	Jul 17, 2008
Publication date	Sep 5, 2017
Grant date	Sep 5, 2017

Abstract

The invention provides cereal plants having a high level of fructan useful for the production of a range of food, beverage, nutraceutical and pharmaceutical products. The invention provides methods of producing high-fructan products from plants modified to comprise a reduced level of an endogenous polypeptide with starch synthase activity, and products so produced. In some embodiments, plants are modified by introduction of an agent such as a nucleic acid molecule which down regulates endogenous starch synthase II gene expression.

First claim

The claims defining the invention are as follows:

1. A process for making a composition having barley grain fructan or wheat grain fructan, comprising:
(i) selecting barley grain or wheat grain which has a reduced level of starch synthase II (SSII) compared to a wild-type grain of the same type; and
(ii) isolating the fructan from the grain selected in step (i) to produce the composition having at least 50% by weight barley grain fructan or wheat grain fructan.

2. The process of claim 1 , wherein the barley grain or wheat grain comprises at least 4% fructan and has a starch content of at least 30%, each as a percentage of the total grain weight.

3. The process of claim 2 , wherein the fructan comprises a degree of polymerization from about 3 to about 12.

4. The process of claim 2 , wherein the grain is cracked, ground, polished, milled, kibbled, rolled or pearled grain.

5. The process of claim 2 which further comprises measuring the level of or assaying the type of fructan in the grain or in the composition.

6. The process of claim 2 , wherein the composition has at least 60% by weight barley grain fructan or wheat grain fructan.

7. The process of claim 6 , wherein the composition has at least 70% by weight barley grain fructan or wheat grain fructan.

8. The process of claim 7 , wherein the composition has at least 80% by weight barley grain fructan or wheat grain fructan.

9. A process for making a food or beverage product or ingredient comprising:
(i) obtaining a composition having at least 50% barley grain fructan or wheat grain fructan by the process of claim 2 ; and
(ii) processing the composition to make the food or beverage product or food or beverage ingredient.

10. The process of claim 9 , wherein the food or beverage product comprises at least 5% fructan as a percentage by weight.

11. The process of claim 9 , wherein the fructan comprises a degree of polymerization from about 3 to about 12.

12. The process of claim 9 , wherein the food is a breakfast cereal, biscuit, muffin, muesli bar, noodle or pasta.

13. The process of claim 9 which further comprises measuring the level of or assaying the type of fructan in the food or beverage ingredient or in the food or beverage product.

14. A process for making a food or beverage ingredient having barley grain fructan or wheat grain fructan, comprising
(i) selecting barley grain or wheat grain which has a reduced level of starch synthase II (SSII) compared to a wild-type grain of the same type;
(ii) isolating the fructan from the grain selected in step (i) to produce a composition having at least 50% by weight barley grain fructan or wheat grain fructan; and
(iii) processing the composition to make the food or beverage ingredient having barley grain fructan or wheat grain fructan.

15. The process of claim 14 , wherein the barley grain or wheat grain comprises at least 4% fructan and has a starch content of at least 30%, each as a percentage of the total grain weight.

16. The process of claim 15 , wherein the fructan comprises a degree of polymerization from about 3 to about 12.

17. The process of claim 15 , wherein the grain is cracked, ground, polished, milled, kibbled, rolled or pearled grain.

18. The process of claim 15 which further comprises measuring the level of or assaying the type of fructan in the composition or in the food or beverage ingredient.

19. The process of claim 15 , wherein the composition has at least 60% by weight barley grain fructan or wheat grain fructan.

20. The process of claim 19 , wherein the composition has at least 70% by weight barley grain fructan or wheat grain fructan.

21. The process of claim 20 , wherein the composition has at least 80% by weight barley grain fructan or wheat grain fructan.

22. A process for making a food or beverage product or ingredient comprising:
(i) obtaining a composition having at least 50% barley grain fructan or wheat grain fructan by the process of claim 15 ; and
(ii) processing the composition to make the food or beverage product or food or beverage ingredient.

23. The process of claim 22 , wherein the food or beverage product comprises at least 5% fructan as a percentage by weight.

24. The process of claim 22 , wherein the fructan comprises a degree of polymerization from about 3 to about 12.

25. The process of claim 22 , wherein the food is a breakfast cereal, biscuit, muffin, muesli bar, noodle or pasta.

26. The process of claim 22 which further comprises measuring the level of or assaying the type of fructan in the food or beverage ingredient or in the food or beverage product.

27. A process for making a composition having barley grain fructan or wheat grain fructan, comprising:
(i) selecting barley grain or wheat grain which comprises at least 4 fructan and has a starch content of at least 30%, each as a percentage of the total grain weight, and has a reduced level of starch synthase II (SSII) compared to a wild-type grain of the same type; and
(ii) isolating the fructan from the grain selected in step (i) to produce the composition having at least 50% by weight barley grain fructan or wheat grain fructan.

Assignees

• Jenkins Colin Leslie Dow
• Clarke Bryan Charles
• Li Zhongyi
• Morell Matthew Kennedy
• Commw Scient Ind Res Org

Inventors

• Jenkins Colin Leslie Dow
• Clarke Bryan Charles
• Li Zhongyi
• Morell Matthew Kennedy

Classifications

• A61P3/00

  Drugs for disorders of the metabolism (of the blood or the extracellular fluid A61P7/00) · CPC title

• A61P3/02

  Nutrients, e.g. vitamins, minerals · CPC title

• A61P19/08

  for bone diseases, e.g. rachitism, Paget's disease · CPC title

• A61P1/00

  Drugs for disorders of the alimentary tract or the digestive system · CPC title

• G01N33/50

  Chemical analysis of biological material, e.g. blood, urine; Testing involving biospecific ligand binding methods; Immunological testing (measuring or testing processes involving enzymes or microorganisms, compositions or test papers therefor; processes for forming such compositions, condition responsive control in microbiological or enzymological processes C12Q) · CPC title