Variations in vitamin E, phenolic content, and antioxidant properties of different wheat cultivars of South Korea

Abstract

The vitamin E, total phenolic content (TPC), and antioxidant activity (AA) profiles of 32 whole wheat cultivars were investigated. Samples were classified based on its hardness (HW: hard wheat, MW: medium wheat, and SW: soft wheat) for easy identification. Total vitamin E content ranged from 64.38SW2 to 111.83MW9 mg/kg; α-tocopherol (6.03MW13 to 21.98MW2 mg/kg), β-T (2.14MW8 to 21.01MW9 mg/kg), α-tocotrienol (4.28MW12 to 9.34MW9 mg/kg), and β-T3 (38.71MW16 to 61.07MW9 mg/kg) were the predominant homologs, with β-T3 as the highest. AA ranged from 334.40MW4 to 584.80HW4 μmol gallic acid equivalent/kg while TPC varied from 1139.70SW6 to 2772.60MW1 μmol GAE/kg. Significant differences in the vitamin E content, TPC, and AA were found among the cultivars regardless of its hardness index. A very weak correlation was found between TPC and AA while a moderate negative correlation was observed between vitamin E content and AA. Results from this study can serve as basis of further studies on the bioactive profiles of Korean wheat cultivars.

Keywords

• Antioxidant activity
• phenolic content
• tocopherols
• tocotrienols
• whole wheat