Retardation of oxidation by residual phytate in purified cereal beta-glucans

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleScientificpeer-review

Abstract

Polysaccharides stabilize emulsions against phase separation and oxidation. This study focused on the role of molecule weight, origin, and residual phytate in the antioxidant activity of β-glucans. The antioxidant activity was investigated by measuring the retardation of lipid oxidation, iron binding capacity and hydroxyl radical scavenging ability of purified oat and barley β-glucans. Low molecular weight β-glucan stabilized the emulsions against phase separation and oxidation better than high molecular weight β-glucan. The oxidative stability of the emulsions, however, correlated to the content of residual phytate in the β-glucan samples. Oat β-glucans which contained higher amount of residual phytate showed higher antioxidant activity than barley β-glucans. When phytate was removed from the β-glucan samples by ion exchange, the antioxidant activity of all β-glucans was reduced to the same level. The study therefore showed that residual phytate played a major role in the antioxidant activity of cereal β-glucans. The study highlights that even at low concentration, phytate content should be considered when evaluating the antioxidant effect of plant polysaccharide extracts.
Original languageEnglish
JournalFood Hydrocolloids
Volume66
Pages (from-to)161-167
Number of pages7
ISSN0268-005X
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2017
MoE publication typeA1 Journal article-refereed

Fields of Science

  • 416 Food Science
  • Phytate
  • Cereal beta-glucan
  • Antioxidant activity
  • Lipid oxidation retardation

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