Fusarium head blight (FHB) has emerged as a major threat to wheat crops around the world, and it has been hypothesized that wheat antioxidants may play a role against Fusarium infections. The current study aimed to determine antioxidant properties of FHB-resistant wheat grains as compared to susceptible wheat. The wheat samples were collected from a single growing location (Warsaw, VA) and the same growing season. The results showed that both FHB-resistant and -susceptible wheat grains exerted strong radical scavenging activities against DPPH^• radical [0.91−1.53 μmol of Trolox equivalents (TE)/g], peroxyl radical (15.5−24.5 μmol of TE/g), and hydroxyl radical (15.7−35.8 μmol of TE/g). Their total phenolic contents ranged from 888 to 1117 μg of gallic acid equivalents (GAE)/g. Five phenolic acids including ferulic, syringic, vanillic, caffeic, and p-coumaric acids were determined in soluble and insoluble fractions of wheat grains, altogether with a range of 219−389 μg/g. On average, the FHB-resistant wheat group showed significantly higher average values in DPPH^• and hydroxyl radicals scavenging activities (30 and 41% higher, respectively) than the FHB-susceptible wheat group.

Keywords: Wheat; Fusarium head blight (FHB); antioxidant; phenolic acids