Effects of phenolic compounds on the browning of cooked barley.

Barley grain products undergo browning when cooked. To evaluate effects of phenolic compounds on browning, various amounts of (+)-catechin, proanthocyanidins, or related phenolic compounds were added to aqueous barley extracts or barley pastes, which were heated at 90 degrees C for 1 or 2 h, respectively. In barley extract, (+)-catechin, procyanidin B3 (PCB3), prodelphinidin B3 (PDB3), and a trimer of gallocatechin-gallocatechin-catechin (PDT1) dose-dependently elevated absorbance at 420 nm after heating. PDB3 caused browning faster than PCB3 and (+)-catechin. In barley paste, PDB3 and PDT1 decreased the L* value and increased the a* and b* values of the paste dose-dependently after heating and PCB3 and (+)-catechin did so to a lesser extent. Caffeic acid promoted the browning in both of the extract and paste, while protocatechuic acid, eriodictyol, and (+)-taxifolin promoted it in the extract and myricetin and quercetin promoted it in the paste. Compounds promoting browning have catechol or pyrogallol structures in common.