Total Phenolic Content and Antioxidant Capacity of Germinated, Popped, and Cooked Huauzontle (Chenopodium berlandieri spp. nuttalliae) Seeds

Raw, germinated, popped, and cooked huauzontle (Chenopodium berlandieri spp. nuttalliae) seeds were analyzed for the contents of phenolics extracted with water (WE), methanol, 1: 1 (v/v) methanol/water (MWE), and 1.2M HCl in 1: 1 (v/v) methanol/water (HMWE); radical scavenging capacity measured by the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and 2,2'-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulphonic acid) (ABTS) methods was studied. The effect of the system solvents used for the accurate quantification of antioxidant content and capacity showed that for raw, germinated, and cooked extracts, water gave the highest yield of total phenolic content, and MWE could recover the highest yield in popped extracts. Thermal treatments increased the flavonoid content more in all extracts than did the germinating process, with values ranging from 10 to 620 mu g/g db of quercetin equivalents. However, all treatments significantly decreased (P < 0.05) the total phenolics (from 3,010 mu g of gallic acid equivalents/g db in raw seeds WE to 710 mu g/g db in germinated seeds MWE). HMWE in all treatments showed the highest values (up to 95.41%) by the DPPH method. With the ABTS method, germinated and popped MWE showed the highest values (up to 2,740mM Trolox/kg db). Based on these results, huauzontle seeds represent a useful potential ingredient for consumer health, because it has been shown to be a good source of total phenolic content having high antioxidant activity; moreover, for further studies, water appears to be effective as an extraction solvent of phenolic compounds.