Barley for production of flavor-stable beverage

Abstract

According to the invention, there is provided null-LOX-1 barley and plant products produced thereof, such as malt manufactured by using barley kernels defective in synthesis of the fatty acid-converting enzyme lipoxygenase-1. Said enzyme accounts for the principal activity related to conversion of linoleic acid into 9-hydroperoxy octadecadienoic acid, a lipoxygenase pathway metabolite, which—through further enzymatic or spontaneous reactions—may lead to the appearance of trans-2-nonenal. The invention enables brewers to produce a beer devoid of detectable trans-2-nonenal-specific off-flavors, even after prolonged storage of the beverage.

1 .- 55 . (canceled) 
     
     
         56 . A barley plant, or a part thereof, wherein said plant comprises less than 1% of the LOX-1 protein activity of a wild-type barley plant, wherein the gene encoding LOX-1 of said plant comprises a premature nonsense codon. 
     
     
         57 . A plant product produced from the barley plant, or a part thereof, according to  claim 56 , the barley plant comprising less than 1% of the LOX-1 protein activity compared to a wild-type barley plant. 
     
     
         58 . The plant product according to  claim 57 , wherein the plant product is a food composition, a feed composition, or a fragrance raw material composition. 
     
     
         59 . A method of producing a beverage having stable organoleptic qualities, said method comprising the steps of: (i) preparing a composition comprising a barley plant or parts thereof, wherein said plant comprises less than 1% of the LOX-1 protein activity of a wild-type barley plant; (ii) processing the composition of (i) into a beverage; thereby obtaining a beverage with stable organoleptic qualities. 
     
     
         60 . The method according to  claim 59 , wherein step (i) comprises preparing a malt composition from kernels of said barley plant or part thereof. 
     
     
         61 . The method according to  claim 59 , wherein the method further comprises a step of incubation with a LOX inhibitor. 
     
     
         62 . The method according to  claim 59 , wherein processing the composition into a beverage comprises a mashing step. 
     
     
         63 . The plant product according to claim  15 , wherein the plant product is a malt composition comprising a processed barley plant or part thereof. 
     
     
         64 . The plant product according to claim  15 , wherein the plant product is a wort composition. 
     
     
         65 . The plant product according to claim  22 , wherein the wort composition is prepared using an enzyme composition or an enzyme mixture composition. 
     
     
         66 . The plant product according to  claim 57 , wherein the plant product is a beverage having stable organoleptic qualities, wherein the beverage is obtained by manufacturing the barley plant or part thereof. 
     
     
         67 . The plant product according to  claim 66 , wherein the plant product is a beverage wherein the beverage is beer. 
     
     
         68 . The plant product according to  claim 66 , wherein the plant product is a beverage that is prepared using malt prepared from kernels of the barley plant. 
     
     
         69 . The plant product according to  claim 66 , wherein the plant product is a beverage that is prepared from a wort composition prepared from the barley plant or part thereof, or from a malt composition prepared from the barley plant or part thereof. 
     
     
         70 . The plant product according to  claim 66 , wherein the plant product is a beverage that is prepared from unmalted barley plants or parts thereof. 
     
     
         71 . The plant product according to  claim 66 , wherein the plant product is a non-fermented beverage. 
     
     
         72 . The plant product according to  claim 66 , wherein the plant product is a beverage having a ratio of 9,12,13-trihydroxyoctadecenoic acid to 9,10,13-trihydroxyoctadecenoic acid of at the most 1.8. 
     
     
         73 . The plant product according to  claim 72 , wherein the plant product is a beverage comprising at the most 0.05 ppb free trans-2-nonenal (T2N) after incubation at 37° C. for 4 weeks in the presence of 4 to 6 ppm sulfite.