Abstract
The content of insoluble bound phenolic acids in pearled barley was determined by an analytical system consisting of alkaline hydrolysis extraction, high-performance liquid chromatographic separation and electrochemical detection. Insoluble bound phenolic acids in five pearled cultivars and fifteen breeding lines of barley comprised ferulic acid (4.3-34.2mg/100 g dry matter), sinapic acid (0.025-0.445 mg/100 g), caffeic acid(0.002-0.016 mg/100 g). Soluble free polyphenols comprised procyanidins(12.2-80.3 mg/100 g), catechin (0.1-28.2 mg/100 g), and total pholyphenolcomprised 152.4-324.0 mg-gallic acid equivalents/100 g. The 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging activity for the barley samples ranged from 403 to 1501 μmol-Trolox equivalents/100 g whereas those of oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC) ranged from 1050 to 3816 μmol-Trolox equivalents/100 g. High correlation (0.980, p<0.01) was found between the DPPH and ORAC assays. Total polyphenol contents positively correlated with the DPPH (0.875, p<0.01)and ORAC (0.881, p<0.01)assays. The correlation coefficient between insoluble bound phenolic acids and total polyphenol contents was higher than that between soluble free polyphenols and total poly-phenol contents. Taken together, the insoluble bound phenolic acids appear to greately contributed to the antioxidant activity in pearled barley.