Quality characteristic of saccharified materials manufactured from germinated barley

Germination conditions were evaluated to obtain barley containing a high content of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), and quality characteristics of saccharified materials manufactured using germinated barley were investigated. Water absorption content of barley increased but pH of the steeping solution decreased with increasing steeping time at all steeping temperatures. The changes in water absorption content and pH were highest at a steeping temperature of 25°C. The highest GABA content was obtained at a steeping condition of 25°C for 20 h. The highest GABA content was obtained for a germination condition of 5°C for 36 h after steeping, resulting in an increase of 7.4 times more GABA contents than thatin raw material. The pH of saccarified materials decreased but titratable acidity, amino type nitrogen content, and ammonia type nitrogen content increased duringthe saccharification period. GABA content of saccarified materials increased withincreasing saccharification period, resulting in the highest GABA content from saccarified materials containing germinated barley.