Variations in vitamin E, phenolic content, and antioxidant properties of different wheat cultivars of South Korea

The vitamin E, total phenolic content (TPC), and antioxidant activity (AA) profiles of 32 whole wheat cultivars were investigated. Samples were classified based on its hardness (HW: hard wheat, MW: medium wheat, and SW: soft wheat) for easy identification. Total vitamin E content ranged from 64.38(SW2) to 111.83(MW9)mg/kg; alpha-tocopherol (6.03(MW13) to 21.98(MW2)mg/kg), beta-T (2.14(MW8) to 21.01(MW9)mg/kg), alpha-tocotrienol (4.28(MW12) to 9.34(MW9)mg/kg), and beta-T3 (38.71(MW16) to 61.07(MW9)mg/kg) were the predominant homologs, with -T3 as the highest. AA ranged from 334.40(MW4) to 584.80(HW4) mol gallic acid equivalent/kg while TPC varied from 1139.70(SW6) to 2772.60(MW1) mol GAE/kg. Significant differences in the vitamin E content, TPC, and AA were found among the cultivars regardless of its hardness index. A very weak correlation was found between TPC and AA while a moderate negative correlation was observed between vitamin E content and AA. Results from this study can serve as basis of further studies on the bioactive profiles of Korean wheat cultivars.