Abstract
Pseudocereals are important as gluten-free crops that could be utilized as functional foods. They contain proteins with high biological value and also bioactive compounds such as phenolic compounds, flavonoids, vitamins, and minerals that can possess positive health effects on the body. Three types of pseudocereals (amaranth, buckwheat, and quinoa) were evaluated for polyphenols and antioxidant activity. Spectrophotometric methods were used for the determination of free phenols amount with Folin-Ciocalteu reagent, and total antioxidant capacity (TAC) with DPPH and ABTS reagents. Free phenols, the predominant part of polyphenols, were in pseudocereals in the range from 12.4 to 678.1 mg GAE.100g-1. The highest content of FP was found in buckwheat products (146.8 - 678.1 mg GAE.100g-1); quinoa and amaranth products reached much lower values (up to 226.1 mg GAE.100g-1). Antioxidant activity was in an agreement with the FP amounts order, the highest TAC values were again for buckwheat products (167.3 - 473.9 and 876.9 - 3524.8 mg TE.100g-1), followed by quinoa (78.2 - 100.6 and 738.9 - 984.5 mg TE.100g-1) and amaranth ones (25.0 - 69.7 and 118.2 - 431.4 mg TE.100g-1). A high positive correlation between FP amount and TAC values was evaluated for analyzed pseudocereals. The highest content of free phenols and the best antioxidant potential showed buckwheat wholemeal flour, so buckwheat could be characterized as a great source of free phenols with high antioxidant activity.
Highlights
Pseudocereals are important gluten-free crops where belong especially amaranth, buckwheat, and quinoa
The highest content of free phenolics content (FP) was analyzed for the buckwheat products; quinoa and amaranth products reached much lower values
Buckwheat, and quinoa were evaluated by spectrophotometric methods for the determination of free phenols amount and total antioxidant capacity
Summary
Pseudocereals are important gluten-free crops where belong especially amaranth, buckwheat, and quinoa Their great nutrient properties and suitability for the preparation of gluten-free foodstuffs (Alvarez-Jubete et al, 2010) predestinate them for the utilization as functional foods. They are known to have good nutritional value, because of proteins with high biological value. It is due to the presence of essential amino acids (especially lysine and tryptophan) in a higher content (Kocková and Valík, 2011). Due to their starch content they are sources of energy. They contain natural antioxidants, high levels of flavonoids (e.g. rutin, hyperoside, vitexin, isovitexin, orientin, isoorientin, catechin and epicatechin gallate in buckwheat), vitamins and minerals (Salehi et al, 2018; Tomotake et al, 2007; Kiprovski et al, 2015)
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