Antioxidant activities of T hai pigmented rice cultivars and application in sunflower oil

Summary An analytical comparison for active chemical compounds and their antioxidant activities between three representative pigmented Thai rice cultivars was performed. It was revealed that the darkest purple‐red cultivar (Kum Doi Musur, KDM) contained the highest total phenolic content of 1164.6 mg gallic acid equivalent per100 g (dry basis, db) and the highest total monomeric anthocyanin content of 381.7 mg per100 g (db), when compared with the purple cultivar (Riceberry) and the red cultivar (Sungyod). Its 2,2‐diphenyl‐1‐picrylhydrazyl radical scavenging activity and ferric reducing antioxidant power were also the highest. When applied in sunflower oil, the KDM crude extract was efficiently capable of retarding lipid peroxidation as assessed by peroxide value, p‐anisidine value, totox value and the Rancimat method. Results show this specific pigmented rice to be a potent antioxidant for stabilisation of sunflower oil.