Abstract
Information on phytochemicals in the cob and husk of field corn is important for the use of corn waste in the production of value-added corn products. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the variation in monomeric anthocyanin content (MAC), total phenolic content (TPC), and antioxidant activity, as determined by 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) free radical scavenging activity and Trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity (TEAC) in 53 purple field corn genotypes, and to study the correlations of these traits with color parameters. Fifty-three corn genotypes were planted in a randomized complete block design with three replications in two locations in the dry season of 2015/2016. The effects of genotype, location, and the interaction between genotype and location were significant for most characters. Genotypic variation contributed to a large portion of the total variance for all traits, accounting for 63.9–86.9%. Corn genotypes were classified into six groups based on MAC, TPC, and antioxidant activity determined by the DPPH and the TEAC methods. The highest MAC, TPC, and antioxidant activity were obtained in TB/KND//PF3 and TB/KND//PF8 for husk, and only TB/KND//PF8 for cob. They should be used as parental lines to develop corn varieties with high phytochemicals. Chroma (C*) and hue (H°) of color parameters could potentially be used as an indirect selection criterion for improving MAC, TPC, and antioxidant activity in cob. The information is useful for the improvement of phytochemicals in cob and husk of field corn.
Highlights
IntroductionCorn has many useful phytochemicals with health benefits such as carotenoids [3], flavonoids, phenolic compounds, and anthocyanins [4,5]
Corn (Zea mays L.) is an important cereal, as it serves human needs for food, feed, and fuel [1,2].Corn has many useful phytochemicals with health benefits such as carotenoids [3], flavonoids, phenolic compounds, and anthocyanins [4,5]
The effect of genotype by location interactions were low, the presence of significant effects might be due to noise from the selection programs, and hinder the progress of selection of field corn breeding for increasing monomeric anthocyanin content, total phenolic content, and antioxidant activity determined by the DPPH and the Trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity (TEAC) methods in both husk and cob
Summary
Corn has many useful phytochemicals with health benefits such as carotenoids [3], flavonoids, phenolic compounds, and anthocyanins [4,5]. Agronomy 2018, 8, 271 corn has useful phytochemicals and, currently, it can be used as a source of antioxidants for functional food products [6,7,12,13,14]. The cob and husk are considered as waste in corn production. They can be used for animal feed and biofuels [23], the utilization of this agricultural waste is still limited. Understanding the content of beneficial compounds such as antioxidants in cob and husk may promote the utilization of this agricultural waste for production of value-added products. Breeding for high anthocyanins in the cob and husk is a promising means to reduce waste in corn production and increase the value of corn production by-products
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