Numerous studies in various plants prove the increase in the amount of phenolic compounds and antioxidant potential (AOP) during the germination under the light of different wavelengths. Therefore, the purpose of our master’s thesis was to verify whether the same trend applies to spelt. Under standard conditions (20 °C, 99 % humidity), grains were concurrently germinated under the LED light and in the dark for 96 hours. After 48 and 96 hours, the germs were separated from the grains and then through the procedures of extraction, hydrolysis, and solid phase extraction and through spectrophotometric methods the contents of free and bound antioxidant compounds in grain and germ samples were determined. The results showed that after 96 hours of germination free antioxidants were predominant in the germ, whereas bound antioxidants were predominant in the remaining grain. During germination, the amount of free phenolic compounds increased in the grain, while that of bounded phenolic compounds increased in the germ. The changes were quantitatively more considerable in germ compared to grain, which attests to the emergence of new compounds. The results of the FC and of the ABTS method are comparable, whereas the values measured using the DPPH method are significantly lower due to the lower reactivity of the prevalent ferulic acid with DPPH radicals. Undeniably, there are changes in the amount of antioxidant compounds during the germination; however, germinating under specific wavelengths (470 and 520 nm) has no significant effect on the quantity of free and bound phenolic compounds and their AOP.
|
