| Abstract
| - Whole grain consumption has been associated with reduced risk of chronic diseases, such ascardiovascular diseases and cancer. These beneficial effects have been attributed to the uniquephytochemicals of grains that complement those found in fruits and vegetables. Wheat is one of themajor grains in the human diet; however, little is known about the inherent varietal differences inphytochemical profiles, total phenolic and carotenoid contents, or total antioxidant activities of differentwheat varieties, which ultimately influence the associated nutritional and health benefits of wheatand wheat products. The objectives of this study were to determine the phytochemical profiles andtotal antioxidant activity for 11 diverse wheat varieties and experimental lines. The profiles includedfree, soluble-conjugated, and insoluble-bound forms of total phenolics, flavonoids, and ferulic acidsand carotenoid content including lutein, zeaxanthin, and β-cryptoxanthin. The results showed thattotal phenolic content (709.8−860.0 μmol of gallic acid equiv/100 g of wheat), total antioxidant activity(37.6−46.4 μmol of vitamin C/g), and total flavonoid content (105.8−141.8 μmol of catechin equiv/100 g of wheat) did not vary greatly among the 11 wheat lines. However, significant differences intotal ferulic acid content (p< 0.05) and carotenoid content (p< 0.05) among the varieties wereobserved, with carotenoid content exhibiting the greatest range of values. Carotenoid content amongthe 11 wheat varieties exhibited 5-fold, 3-fold, and 12-fold differences in lutein, zeaxanthin, andβ-cryptoxanthin, respectively. A synthetic wheat experimental line, W7985, gave the lowest carotenoidconcentrations of any of the genotypes in this study. Such large genotypic differences in carotenoidcontent may open up new opportunities for breeding wheat varieties with higher nutritional value. Keywords: Phytochemicals; phenolics; carotenoids; antioxidant; wheat
|
