Variation in Antioxidants, Bioactive Compounds and Antioxidant Capacity in Germinated and Ungerminated Grains of Ten Rice Cultivars

Present study was conducted to characterise ten rice (Oryza sativa L.) cultivars viz. IET-23466, Dhan-201, IET-23448, MAS-946, IET-23445, IET-23463, IET-23455, PR-123, PR-115 and IET-23449 based on antioxidants (total phenolics, flavonols and tannins), bioactive compounds (phytic acid, gamma amino butyric acid, tocopherol and reduced ascorbate) and antioxidant activity (1,1-diphenyl-2- picrylhydrazyl radical scavenging activity, hydroxyl radical scavenging activity, free radical antioxidant power and total reducing power) with an aim to identify cultivars containing higher health promoting components after germination. Three cultivars IET-23466, IET-23463 and PR-123 performed better as revealed by higher level of antioxidants, bioactive compounds and antioxidant activity before and after germination. Three cultivars MAS-946, IET-23445 and IET-23449 had moderate level of antioxidants, bioactive compounds and antioxidant activity. Four cultivars Dhan-201, IET-23448, IET-23455 and PR-115 performed intermediately. Strong positive correlation was observed among total phenolics and the antioxidant activity. Phytic acid was found to be negatively correlated to the antioxidant activity. Our results highlighted that cultivars IET-23466, IET-23463 and PR-123 hold great potential after germination and would open up a useful opportunity for the functional food industry, and consumption of these cultivars after germination would afford health benefits to consumers since they contain higher level of antioxidants.