It is intended to provide barley malt rootlets being rich in functional components (free amino acids, dietary fibers and so on) and a process for producing the same. More specifically speaking, it is intended to provide foods, drugs or and cosmetics having improved functions by using, as one of the starting materials of the foods, drugs or and cosmetics, processed malt rootlets obtained by processing malt rootlets or an extract obtained by extracting functional components from malt rootlets, and a process for producing the same. Contents of functional components (for example, free ami no acids such as GABA and dietary fibers such as .beta.-glucan) in malt rootlet s can be increased by appropriately controlling the sprouting time, the drying or kilning temperature, or both of the sprouting time and the drying or kilning temperature at the malting step in the course of malting. By optimizing the temperature for extracting malt rootlets with an extraction solvent, furthermore, the contents of extracted functiona
