Synthesis of antioxidants in wheat sprouts.

Aqueous and ethanolic extracts from wheat (Triticum aestivum) sprout powder were analyzed to determine its reduction and antioxidant activities. Mean and standard deviation of five independent samples were reported. The results showed that the micromoles of potassium ferricyanide reduced by aqueous and ethanolic extracts corresponding to 1 g of sprout powder (80.6 +/- 11.2 and 9.7 +/- 1.8, respectively) were higher than that reduced by 1 mg of other reducing compounds: ascorbic acid, rutin, quercetin, and reduced gluthatione (4.8 +/- 0.7, 3.8 +/- 1.2, 4.8 +/- 1.7, and 1.6 +/- 0.4, respectively). In addition, the oxygen superoxide scavenging activity performed by sprout extracts (from 1 g of powder) is comparable to that shown by 10 mg of antioxidant pure compounds (rutin and quercetin). Biochemical analysis of the sprout extracts shows that the antioxidant activity is mainly due to reducing glycoside and polyphenolic compounds.