Changes in phenolic acids and antioxidant activity in Thai rice husk at five growth stages during grain development.

Soluble and bound phenolic acids were isolated from Thai rice husk samples at five growth stages during grain development, and their antioxidant activities were evaluated. The results showed that ferulic acid was the major soluble phenolic acid in husk at all stages, and its concentration decreased steadily during grain development. The ratio of ferulic to p-coumaric acid was approximately 2:1 at all stages. The most abundant bound phenolic acid in all extracts was p-coumaric acid, followed by ferulic acid along with traces of syringic, vanilic, and p-hydroxybenzoic acids. Most of the antioxidant activities of soluble and bound phenolic acids in husk extracts were found at flowering stage, and there were high correlations of antioxidant activity to levels of soluble ferulic, gallic, and p-coumaric acids.