Phytochemical composition and antioxidant capacity of whole wheat products

Whole wheat contains an array of phytochemicals. We quantified alkylresorcinols (AR), phenolic acids, phytosterols, and tocols in six whole wheat products and characterized their antioxidant capacity and ability to induce quinone reductase activity (QR). Total AR content ranged from 136.8 to 233.9 mu g/g and was correlated with whole wheat content (r = 0.9248; p = 0.0083). Ferulic acid (FerA) was the dominant phenolic at 99.9-316.0 mu g/g and mostly bound tightly to the wheat matrix. AR-C21 and total FerA predicted the whole wheat content in each product (R-2 = 0.9933). Total phytosterol content ranged from 562.6 to 1035.5 mu g/g. Total tocol content ranged from 19.3 to 292.7 mu g/g. Phytosterol and tocol contents were independent of whole wheat content. Whole wheat biscuits and pasta were the most potent products to induce QR in Hepa1c1c7 cells. This study provides a platform to characterize the relationship between the phytochemical composition of whole wheat and products formulated with this whole grain.