Dietary fiber (DF) is a group of food components that pass undigested through the stomach and small intestine and reach the large intestine virtually unchanged. Although poor in caloric or nutritional value, food fiber has significant health benefits. Whole grain cereals are some of the best sources of DF, along with beans, fruits, vegetables and nuts. Cereals contain substantial amounts of both soluble and insoluble DF. Almost all water-soluble polysaccharides produce viscous solutions. The viscous properties of DF are determined by several factors, including their chemical composition, molecular size, and composition of the extraction media. The study had in view the correlation between water extract viscosities and molecular weight of soluble DF in some whole grain cereals. There is a good correlation between the obtained water extracts viscosities and the average molecular weights of soluble DFs from barley, triticale, oat and wheat. The obtained value of the regression coefficient was r = 0.917.
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