Studies on the Enhancement in Antioxidative Activity of Sesame Seed Induced by Germination

Abstract

Changes in antioxidative activity of methanol extracts of germinating sesame seed and sprout was studied, and constituents considered to related to the activity were analyzed. The activity measured by thiocyanate method increased in parallel with germination, which started after 1 day incubation at 37°C, and with elongation of the sprout, 2 to 4 days after. Among the constituents, sesamin and sesamolin markedly decreased with germination, but no production of sesamol was observed. γ-Tocopherol decreased from 200 to 40μg per gram during 7 days incubation. Ascorbic acid was not detected in the methanol extract, although its amount in metaphosphoric acid extract was found to increase with germination. Total phenol content by FOLIN-DENIS method, however, markedly increased. These results suggest that the effective antioxidants in methanol extract are phenolic substances rather than sesamol and γ-tocopherol.