The Nutritional Value of Non-Traditional Gluten-Free Flakes and Their Antioxidant Activity

Nowadays, there is a growing interest for foods with a lower sugar content and rich in fiber and biologically active substances. The main purpose of this study was to prepare flakes from non-traditional pigmented cereals (Oryza sativa, Chenopodium quinoa, and Eragrostis tef) and to analyze their fibre, sugar, and in vitro digestibility values. Regarding phenolic antioxidants (soluble, soluble conjugated, and insoluble bound fractions), their content and antioxidant activity were measured using spectrophotometry and high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) methods. Hydrothermally treated grains resulted in flakes with higher total dietary fibre contents (11.1–24.4%), quinoa and teff flakes were rich in maltose (up to 42.0 mg/g). Non-traditional flakes had lower in vitro digestibility, but conversely, they exhibited the highest phenolic contents corresponding with the highest antioxidant activity values (up to 2.33 mg Gallic acid equivalent/g of total phenolic content and 1.59 mg Trolox equivalent/g for 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) in case of brown teff). Among free phenolics, the main contributors to an antioxidant activity were p-coumaric, o-coumaric, and gallic acids (r > 0.8186); among the soluble conjugated fractions, they were epigallocatechin, epicatechin, caffeic, and vanillic acids (r > 0.5935); while caffeic, protocatechuic, and ferulic acids (r > 0.5751) were the main contributors among the insoluble bound phenolics.