Effect of different pretreatments on antioxidant activity of oats grown in the Himalayan region.

In this work the different varieties of oats were subjected to three pre-treatments such as germination, sand roasting and γ-irradiation. The pretreated oat grains were evaluated for phenolic content, flavonoid content and antioxidant activity. RP-HPLC displayed that the amount of ferulic acid, chlorogenic acid, kaempferol, ellagic acid and epicatechin in native, roasted and γ-irradiated oats varied in the range of 2.51-3.23, 0.97-1.89, 4.35-5.33, 1.56-2.197 and 3.387-10.8 µg/100 g, respectively. Total phenolic content (TPC) expressed as µg GAE/g and µg FAE/g and total flavonoid content (TFC) expressed as µg rutin equivalent/g was found highest in germinated samples. Study reported increase in antioxidant activity in the following order; γ-irradiation > germination > roasting > native. It was concluded that the different pretreatments enhanced antioxidant properties of the oat grains therefore can be efficiently utilized as food or functional ingredient in various food systems. © Association of Food Scientists & Technologists (India) 2022.