Evaluation of physicochemical characteristics and antioxidant properties of elite rice (Oryza sativa L.)

The objective of this study was to evaluate the physical and chemical properties such as plant height, length of panicles, number of effective tillers, total number of grains, number of unfilled and filled grains, weight of 1000 grains, biological and economic yield, harvest index, chlorophyll index, growth period, total phenol (TP), and total antioxidant capacity based on 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) in 30 genotypes of elite rice grown in Iran. The highest 1000-grain weight was observed in genotype IR56 (G30) with 27.15 g; the highest biological yield was observed in Neda (G28) genotype (24.92 t/ha) that was at the same statistical level with national genotype (G25) (24.19 t/ha). Keshvari genotype has the highest grain yield (7.64 ton * hec). The highest amount of chlorophyll index was observed in genotype line 101 (G9) with 45.75%. In addition, the range of antioxidant capacity based on DPPH was 9.033-19.067% and genotype 13 (Bijar) had the highest antioxidant capacity. The highest TP content was 1.137 mg gallic acid (GAE) per g. According to the correlation, (0.555) had a positive and significant correlation with the antioxidant capacity based on DPPH. Also based on cluster analysis, the 30 genotypes were located in 5 main clusters. The present research reveals the potential of rice (Oryza sativa L.) genotypes studied for the improvement of nutritional value through germplasm enhancement programs.