Comparison of composition and antioxidant capacity of some cereals and pseudocereals

Polyphenols, phenolic acids, fibres and antioxidant capacity were determined in water, acetone and methanol extracts of buckwheat, rice, soybean, quinoa and 3 amaranth cultivars. Their antioxidant activities were comparatively assessed by total radical-trapping antioxidative potential (TRAP), ferric ion-reducing antioxidant power (FRAP), cupric-reducing antioxidant capacity (CUPRAC) and nitric oxide (NO center dot) assays, which comprised of contributions from polyphenols and phenolic acids (especially from the most abundant ferulic acid). The correlation coefficients between polyphenols and antioxidant activities of cereal and pseudocereal methanol extracts with FRAP, NO center dot, CUPRAC and TRAP were 0.99, 0.97, 0.96 and 0.77, respectively. The weakest correlation was with dietary fibres, an average one exhibited with tannins and marked correlation was shown with the phenolics. All the applied methods have shown that pseudocereals have higher antioxidant activity than some cereals (rice and buckwheat) and can be successfully replaced by cereals in case of allergy.