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The aim of this study was to determine the level of antioxidants in the seeds of wheat, lentil, pea, radish, broccoli, alfalfa, sunflower and amaranth germinated for 24, 72 and 120 hours. Following germination, the highest increases in the total phenols corresponded to 5.39, 4.62 and 2.20 times in broccoli, radish and alfalfa seeds respectively. The 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl radical scavenging activity was higher after germination for 120 hours in all the seed types as compared with the non-germinated seeds. In radish, sunflower and alfalfa seeds, the ability to scavenge ABTS increased by 5.19, 1.34 and 2.90 times respectively, after germination. According to the different changes in the amounts of tocopherol isomers in germinating seeds can be summarized, that the α-tocopherol content increased and that of β-, γ-, δ-tocopherol decreased irrespective of the species, therefore suitable for germination time and seeds variety allows having products with a high nutritional and antioxidant properties.

The lipid compositions of the seed oils of some Nigella species were investigated. The total oil content of the seeds ranged from 28.0 to 36.4%. GC-MS fatty acid compositional analysis of the Nigella seed oils revealed the content of linoleic acid to be the highest (40.3-58.9%). Other prominent fatty acids were as follows: oleic (18.7-28.1%), palmitic (10.1-12.5%), 22:1 D11 (3.2-3.8%) and stearic (2.6-3.1%) acids. All the Nigella seed oils analysed exhibited differences in their tocopherol contents. The oils extracted from the seeds contained between 1.70-4.12 mg/100 g alpha-T, 0.97-4.51 mg/100 g gamma-T, and 4.90-17.91 mg/100 g beta-T3. The total tocopherol content in seeds varied between 9.15 mg/100 g to 24.65 mg/100 g. The compositions of the sterol fractions were determined by gas liquid chromatography. The total amounts of sterols ranged between 1,993.07 mg/kg to 2,182.17 mg/kg. The main component was beta-sitosterol (48.35-51.92%), followed by 5-avenasterol, campesterol, and stigmasterol.

Measurements of the quantum efficiencies of photosynthetic electron transport through photosystem II (phi(PSII)) and CO2 assimilation (phi(CO2)) were made simultaneously on leaves of maize (Zea mays) crops in the United Kingdom during the early growing season, when chilling conditions were experienced. The activities of a range of enzymes involved with scavenging active O2 species and the levels of key antioxidants were also measured. When leaves were exposed to low temperatures during development, the ratio of phi(PSII)/phi(CO2) was elevated, indicating the operation of an alternative sink to CO2 for photosynthetic reducing equivalents. The activities of ascorbate peroxidase, monodehydroascorbate reductase, dehydroascorbate reductase, glutathione reductase, and superoxide dismutase and the levels of ascorbate and alpha-tocopherol were also elevated during chilling periods. This supports the hypothesis that the relative flux of photosynthetic reducing equivalents to O2 via the Mehler reaction is higher when leaves develop under chilling conditions. Lipoxygenase activity and lipid peroxidation were also increased during low temperatures, suggesting that lipoxygenase-mediated peroxidation of membrane lipids contributes to the oxidative damage occurring in chill-stressed leaves

In this study, fruits, fruit flesh and seeds of Rosa damascena and Rosa canina were assayed for the composition of fatty acids, ascorbic acid, alpha-tocopherol, beta-carotene, and mineral elements. The concentration of linoleic acid in seed oil of R. damascena (54.18%) was higher than in R. canina (48.84%). Alpha-tocopherol concentrations were found to be 7.10 microg/g and 34.20 microg/g for R. damascena and R. canina fruits, respectively. Ascorbic acid conc. was determined as the highest in the fruit flesh (546 mg/100 g in R. damascena and 2,200 mg/100 g in R. canina), and as the lowest in the seeds of both species. R. damascena fruits were found to be richer in minerals such as Ca, Fe, K, Mn, Na, P, and Zn than R. canina fruits. The results of the present study showed that R. damascena fruits could be used as food and food additive equally as rose hip fruits.

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; α-tocopherol (6.03 MW13 to 21.98 MW2  mg/kg), β-T (2.14 MW8 to 21.01 MW9  mg/kg), α-tocotrienol (4.28 MW12 to 9.34 MW9  mg/kg), and β-T3 (38.71 MW16 to 61.07 MW9  mg/kg) were the predominant homologs, with β-T3 as the highest. AA ranged from 334.40 MW4 to 584.80 HW4 μmol gallic acid equivalent/kg while TPC varied from 1139.70 SW6 to 2772.60 MW1 μmol 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.

Extra-virgin oil is obtained from olive fruits only by mechanical means. The quality of extra-virgin olive oils is affected mainly by hydrolytic and oxidative reactions. For this reason, the commercial shelf-life is usually no longer than 18 months. In order to investigate the effects of a prolonged storage, olives from cv. Coratina were crushed using a three phase system to produce extra virgin olive oil analysed for sensory and chemical-physical indices, phenolic profile, tocopherol content, and antioxidant activity during a 8-years storage. The oil lost its characteristics of extra-virgin after 6 years of storage, time at which the median of the defects was higher than 0 and free acidity exceeded the limit fixed for this category by the European Regulation whereas the stability against oxidation persisted for a longer period due to the high concentration of oleuropein derivatives. A strong positive linear correlation was observed between the phenolic content and antioxidant activity measured according to the ABTS+. to indicate a noticeable radical scavenging ability of phenolic compounds.

The antioxidant capacity of some herbs used in dietology practice was determined by the DPPH free radical method, which was calibrated with ascorbic acid. Partially hydrophilic phenolic compounds are the most active compounds in plants, and therefore water was used as the extraction agent. Besides antioxidant capacity, the content of total phenolic compounds was also measured and a strong correlation between these two variables was found. The extracts of Melissa officinalis, Mentha x piperita, Origanom vulgare, Origanum heracleoticum, Salvia officinalis and Satureja montana showed very significant activity. It was comparable with the activity of green tea in the case of oregano and peppermint. Lower activity was observed in the case of Rosmarinus officinalis, Majorana hortensis, Hyssopus officinalis, Ocimum basilicum, and Levisticum officinale. The inhibitory activity of the herb extracts was monitored also during the autooxidation of lard. Very high antioxidant capacity was observed mainly in sage samples, but also in marjoram and Greek oregano. The extracts of peppermint, oregano, rosemary, winter savory, lemon balm and hyssop showed middle activity comparable to that of alpha-tocopherol. The antioxidant capacity of sweet basil and lovage was insignificant.

The total content of fat soluble vitamins and their percentages in the recommended daily intake for humans per 100 g portion, fatty acids composition, the atherogenic (IA) and thrombogenicity (IT) indices in two freshwater fish species - Common carp (Cyprinus carpio) and European catfish (Sillurus glanis) were investigated. Retinol contents in fresh edible tissues of the Common carp and European catfish were found to be 30.8 +/- 3.4 mg/100 g wet weight (ww) for the Common carp 30.8 +/- 3.4 microg/100 g ww and 1.9 +/- 0.1 microg/100 g ww for the European catfish, cholecalciferol contents 14.8 +/- 1.0 and 3.1 +/- 0.1 microg/100 g ww, and alpha-tocopherol contents 2764.5 +/- 44.0 and 2182.5 +/- 31.5 microg/100 g ww, resp. The sum of monounsaturated FA accounted for 50.02% (catfish) and 23.15% (carp). Polyunsaturated FA (PUFA) showed a higher level in the carp (36.75%) and a lower one in the catfish (21.64%). Both fishes are good sources of cholecalciferol in terms of the recommended daily intake of vitamins established in Bulgaria. Three fat soluble vitamins, n-3 PUFAs content, and IA value were higher in carp. IT values were similar for both species.

Walnuts of five cultivars (Sampion, Jupiter, Sejnovo, Elit, and Geisenheim 139) of Juglans regia were collected during the 2008 harvest in Cacak, Central Serbia. Two techniques of oil extraction were implemented - cold pressing and organic solvent extraction. The influence of the implemented methods on the fatty acid composition, tocopherol level as well as oxidative stability was examined. Predominant fatty acids were palmitic, oleic, linoleic, and linolenic acids. The oleic acid concentration ranged from 15.9_23.7% of the total fatty acids, while the linoleic acid concentration ranged from 57.2-65.1% and that of linolenic acid from 9.1-13.6%. The process of oil extraction had no significant effect on the concentration and composition of fatty acids in the oil. The total concentration of tocopherols ranged from 28.40 mg/100 g to 42.40 mg/100 g of the extracted oil. The most common tocopherol in all samples was gamma-tocopherol. The oil extracted using the Soxhlet method contained higher amounts of total tocopherols while the stability of the oil samples (expressed as induction period) ranged from 5.0 h to 7.1 hours. Reduced stability of the oil samples as measured by the Rancimat method was negatively correlated with the level of linolenic acid and total content of tocopherols.

This work aimed at investigating the potential of the rice grain and its milling fractions (from clay and sandy soils) as sources of antioxidant compounds. Ten phenolic acids and four flavonoids were identified in their free and bound forms and were found to be mainly associated with the bran and the husk. On a whole grain basis, ferulic and p-coumaric acids accounted for 72% and 20% of total phenolic acids, respectively. The contents of the chemopreventive flavonoid tricin in the husk, bran, brown rice and white rice were 384.00, 39.71, 7.36 and 0.50 mg/kg, respectively. Eight vitamin E isomers, γ-oryzanol and phytic acid were also identified, and their distribution in the rice grain was recorded in the following decreasing order: bran, brown rice, white rice and husk. Overall, these results showed that the bran and husk of rice were rich sources of antioxidant compounds, revealing the potential multipurpose use of the rice grain parts.