<b>Food</b>

Abstract

Natural Product Radiance - Jan. 2005Cereals are an important part of diets for hypercholesterolemic patients. The scientists at Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and Faculty of Human Nutrition at Warsaw and others at Israel evaluated Oat and Amaranth meals effect on plasma lipid profile in rats fed cholesterol-containing diets. The purpose of the study was to compare oatmeal (<b><i>Avena sativa </i>Linn.)</b> with two samples of amaranth (<b><i>Amaranthus erythrostachys </i>Moq.</b> syn. <i>A. hypochondriacus</i> Linn.) meals to determine whether this pseudocereal can be a substitute for allergic to cereals individuals. The total phenols of the samples were determined with the Folin–Chocalteu reagent, anthocyanins, and flavonoids spectrophotometrically. The antioxidant activities were estimated with nitric oxide scavenging radical (NO) and by β-carotene bleaching (β-carotene). It was found that the contents of different protein fractions, antioxidant compounds, and the antioxidant activities of oatmeal were significantly higher than those of the two amaranth samples. The results of kinetic reactions showed that samples differed in their capacities to quench these radicals, and oats have shown more antioxidant activity than amaranth.