Effects of pH and Light on the Storage Stability of the Purple Pigment, Hordeumin, from Uncooked Barley Bran Fermented Broth

The pigment retention rate of hordeumin was higher than that of two standard anthocyanidins, cyanidin and delphinidin, when hordeumin and anthocyanidins were dissolved in Walpole buffer (pH 1.0) and stored. Moreover, when pigment solutions were stored at 15 degrees C under light irradiation, the pigment retention rate of the hordeumin solution became higher than those of standard anthocyanidins (2 to 10 times) as the storage period increased. Comparing various pH buffers (MacIlvaine buffer, pH 2.2 to 7.0), the pigment retention rate of hordeumin at pH 5.0 was highest. Furthermore, the half-life of hordeumin at pH 5.0 was increased from 9 days to 17.5 days when nitrogen gas was bubbled into the hordeumin solution. We considered that the storage stability of hordeumin is higher than standard anthocyanidins because hordeumin is a complex with anthocyanin, tannin, and protein.