Antioxidant potential (AOP) of foods is becoming increasingly important due to its many positive effects on reduced incidence of chronic disease. Within the diploma thesis we wanted to study the influence of the germination on the phenolic compounds content and the AOP of rye ( Secale cereale) seeds. Methanol was used to prepare extracts of phenolic compounds. The content of phenolic compounds and the antioxidant potential were determined spectrophotometrically using the Folin-Ciocalteu reagent and the DPPH• radical. The content of phenolic compounds was expressed as ferulic acid equivalent (FK) per g of dry weight (mg FK/g DW), meawhile AOP was expressed as the trolox equivalent per g of dry weight (mg trollox/g DW). The results showed that the concentration of phenolic compounds and AOP increased with the germination time; the first noticeable increase was observed 72 hours after steeping of the seeds. We have established a strong positive correlation between the content of phenolic compounds and AOP of germinated rye. The maximum content of phenolic compounds and antioxidants in rye grains was determined after 96 hours of biological activation when content of phenolic compounds amounted to (3,5 ± 0,2) mg FK/g DW, and the AOP value reached (1,41 ± 0,03) mg of trolox/g DW. The amounts of total phenolic compounds increased 3,5-fold, while germination of the rye seeds resulted in a 3,7-fold increase in AOP in only four days. Because of the properties shown, such seeds can be used in the production of functional foods.
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