Cornus mas L. (Cornelian cherry, CM) fruits were dehydrated by solar-drying (SD) and freeze-drying (FD), and in addition to sugar and mineral contents, the free and insoluble-bound phenolics were determined in fresh and dried fruits. After subjecting the sample to simulated in vitro digestion, the change of free and bound phenolics at gastric and intestinal digestion steps was evaluated in fresh and dried CM fruits. In fresh CM fruits, the total phenolic content (TPC) was dominated by the bound fraction, whereas the contribution of free phenolics to the total content (free + bound) became more dominant (731–1439 mg GAE/100 g dw) in the dried fruits. The bioaccessibility (BI%) of TPC from fresh CM after digestion was 193%, whereas it was 18.60 and 48.02% for SD and FD fruits, respectively. The contribution free fraction to the total TPC value was around 28% in nondigested fresh samples and increased to 94% in digested samples; however, in dried samples, it was 64% prior to digestion and only increased to 70% in digested samples. A total of 17 phenolic compounds were identified in CM fruits: chlorogenic acid, caffeic acid, epicatechin, quercetin, cyanidin-3-O-glucoside, and pelargonidin 3-O-glucoside were only detected in the free fraction; gallic acid, vanillic acid, ferulic acid, and kaempferol were detected in higher amounts in the bound fraction. The quantity of detected phenolics in the nondigested sample generally decreased from the gastric to the intestinal stage of digestion. The release of phenolics from the fruit matrix and their degradation occurred simultaneously during digestion, and this could be affected by the state of the fruit, e.g., fresh or dried. Graphical abstract

Although the Med-Diet is a healthy diet model, it is affected by current dietary habits. Therefore, new foods with improved nutritional value should be developed to respond to the needs of people following the Med-Diet. This study was focused on developing high-β-glucan flat bread (bazlama) with a relatively lower GI. A bread wheat (cv. Tosunbey) flour was enriched with the flour of a high-β-glucan-content hull-less barley (cv. Chifaa) flour (15, 30, 45 and 60%) to develop a functional bazlama. The nutritional and technological properties of bazlama samples enriched with barley flour were compared with the ones produced from bread wheat. All of the barley flour-enriched bazlama samples had higher yellowness values (b*) than the control (both crumb and crust), which is generally preferred by the consumers. Texture results indicated that bazlama samples became harder with the increase in barley flour supplementation level. The results showed that 3 g of β-glucan can be provided from the barley flour-enriched bazlama samples (at 45 and 60% levels), and this is the limit to carry health claims. The bazlama samples enriched with barley flour were richer in Mg, K, Mn, Fe, and Zn minerals than the control (100% Tosunbey flour). While the glycemic index (GI) of commercial bread wheat and Tosunbey bazlama samples were high (88.60% and 79.20%, respectively), GI values of the bazlama samples enriched with 60% (64.73) and 45% barley flour (68.65) were medium. The lower GI values of barley flour-enriched bazlama samples are probably due to the higher β-glucan contents of the bazlama samples. Additionally, as the barley flour supplementation level of the bazlama samples increased, the phenolics and antioxidant capacities of free and bound extracts increased compared to bread wheat bazlama. The results indicated that hull-less barley (cv. Chifaa) with high β-glucan content may be utilized at relatively higher levels (45 and 60%) to produce bazlama with improved nutritional properties.