A New Analytical Method for the Determination of Phenolic Compounds and Their Antioxidant Activities in Different Wheat Grass Varieties

In this work, the phenolic content and antioxidant capacity of wheat grass, Turkish Amber Durum wheat was studied. For this purpose Turkish Amber Durum wheat was germinated at three different times (15, 30 and 40 days). All the wheat samples sprouted in the same organic conditions and then dried with air and without sunlight and placed into an incubator at 50°C overnight. The dried and milled amber wheat grass was extracted with ethyl acetate and compared for their antioxidant capacities against the 2,2-diphenyl-1picrylhydrazyl (DPPH.) radical, and at the same time the total phenolic content (TPC) was determined. Phenolic compounds in the extracts were examined by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). In this study, by using a new method, nine standards were separately detected within 50 min by using the HPLC system, as previously reported by other authors. The major phenolics, identified in the wheat grass that consisted of ferulic acid, gallic acid, caffeic acid, pcoumaric acid, ellagic acid, benzoic acid, p-hydroxybenzoic acid, syringic acid, quercetin and bha (butylated hydroxyanisole). The highest antioxidant and antiradical activities were detected in Turkish Amber wheat that sprouted in 15 days. This study demonstrates that the importance of wheat grass is due to its high antioxidant activity. Consumption of wheat grass has positive effects on human health such as reduced risk of coronary heart diseases, certain type of cancers and stroke. Due to the high antioxidant effect of wheat grass the aim is to use it as a food preservative. When wheat grass will be used as a natural food preservative, carcinogenic effects of synthetic food preservatives for body would be preserved.