Effect of Dehulling on Antioxidant Activity and Total Phenolic Content of Buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum) Flour

Total phenolic content, total flavonoid content and antioxidant activity of free and bound extracts from whole and groats buckwheat flour were evaluated.The whole buckwheat flour was found to be better with regard to total phenolic content (12.60 mg GAE/g) and total flavonoid content (24.7 mg RUE/g).Among the two types of buckwheat flour, the antioxidant activity of the buckwheat flour as determined by DPPH (94.24 %), Lipid peroxidation (71.98 %), metal chelating activity (9.52 mg GAE/g) and found to be better than groat buckwheat flour.Antioxidant activities from both free and bound forms as determined by different extracting solvents were also found to be strongly correlated with the quantity of total phenolic content (R 2 = 0.949 in buckwheat flour, R 2 = 0.934 in groat buckwheat flour) and total flavonoid content (R 2 = 0.997 and 0.994 for buckwheat flour and groat buckwheat flour) respectively.The results of the given research revealed that VL-7 variety of buckwheat grown in Himalayan region of India possessed excellent phenolic and flavonoid content associated with antioxidant activities.This justified that buckwheat could be a good source to extract nutraceuticals and to formulate nutritious food products across the globe.