Antioxidant activity of commercial buckwheat flours and their free and bound phenolic compositions

Commercial buckwheat flours were investigated for their antioxidant activities, free, and bound phenolic compositions using spectrophotometer, LC–ESI-IT-MS, and LC–ESI-Q-TOF-MS. Farinetta flour contained the highest free and bound phenolic contents, followed by Supreme, whole buckwheat, and Fancy flour, respectively. The 50% ethanol extraction achieved significantly higher free phenolic content compared with water and absolute alcohol. The absolute ethanol extraction contained considerable more bound phenolic and flavonoid compounds. A high extraction temperature increased the phenolic contents. The optimal solvent to solids ratio was 50:1, and the optimal extraction time was 5 h for flavonoids. The spectral method was reproducible for analysing the total flavonoid contents. The LC–ESI-Q-TOF-MS studies on whole buckwheat flour showed that p-coumaric and gallic acids were found in the bound phenolics along with isoquercitrin but were not present in the free phenolic compounds. The free flavonol-glycosides were found in whole buckwheat flour but not in any other buckwheat flours.