| International Journal of Current Microbiology and Applied Sciences |
| ISSN: 2319-7706 Volume 2 Number 6 (2013) pp. 84-92 |
| Phenolic acids in different preparations of Maize (Zea mays) and their role in human health |
| Rachna Pandey1 , Amitabh Singh*2 , Sudarshan Maurya3 , U. P.Singh2 and Mandavi Singh4 |
| 1D. Y. Patil Biotechnology and Bioinformatics Institute, Akurdi, Pune-411044, India 2N-8/236, R-22, Ganesh Dham Colony, Newada, Sunderpur, Varanasi-221005, India 3Department of Mycology and Plant Pathology, Institute of Agricultural Sciences, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi-221005, India 4Department of Anatomy, Institute of Medical Sciences, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi-221005, India *Corresponding author e-mail: amitabhs777@gmail.com |
| A B S T R A C T |
| The nutritional and therapeutic properties for human health can be attributed to a number of compounds including phenolics. Phenolics are found mostly in plants. Humans and animals lack the pathway responsible for synthesizing phenolic acids which play a great role in human health in several ways. Maize (Zea mays) is consumed by people globally and is considered as a good nutrient. However, the analysis of phenolic acids in different preparations of maize (Zea mays) has not been done so far. Phenolic acids are synthesized through phenyl propanoid pathway in plant leaves from where they are distributed to entire plant systems. The HPLC analysis of different preparations of maize yielded eight phenolic acids, viz., tannic, gallic, O-coumaric, caffeic, vanillic, ferulic, cinnamic acids and salicylic acid in varying amounts. Maximum number was detected in dry maize grain. Cinnamic and salicylic acids were present in almost all the preparations in sufficient amount along with salicylic acid (13.04 g/g fresh wt.) in corn flour. Gallic acid was present in aqueous extracts of all the preparations except pop corn, stylar portion and baby cob. Out of eight preparations vanillic acid was present only in dry grain, corn flour and maximum in baby cob (121.40 g/g fresh wt.). Ferulic acid was present in all preparations except pop corn, corn flakes and baby cob. O-coumaric acid was also present in all preparations except baby cob. Several properties, viz., antifungal, antibacterial, allelopathic, immuno-stimulating, antioxidant, inducing resistance in plants etc. have already been reported for several phenolic acids and the same has been connected with the phenolic acids present in different preparations of maize in detail in the present paper particularly with human health. |
| Keywords |
| HPLC; phenolic acids; maize; Zea mays; O-coumaric; caffeic; vanillic; ferulic; cinnamic acids. |