Nutraceutical potential of maize (Zea mays L.) laboratory-scale wet milling by-products in terms of β-sitosterol in fiber, γ-tocopherol in germ, and lutein and zeaxanthin in gluten

Deepak, Thalli Satyanarayana and Jayadeep, Padmanabhan Appukuttan (2023) Nutraceutical potential of maize (Zea mays L.) laboratory-scale wet milling by-products in terms of β-sitosterol in fiber, γ-tocopherol in germ, and lutein and zeaxanthin in gluten. CEREAL RESEARCH COMMUNICATIONS, 51 (3). pp. 687-699. ISSN 0133-3720 (print), 1788-9170 (online)

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Abstract

In this study, a simplified laboratory-scale wet milling method was designed and utilized to fractionate maize (corn) kernels into by-products namely germ, gluten and fiber. Corn gluten with the highest yield (14.4%) was followed by fiber (12.1%) and germ (4%). Nutraceuticals were chemically extracted, characterized and compared between the by-products and the raw corn kernel flour. Carotenoids, tocopherols and tocotrienols were characterized by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), while the phytosterols were characterized by gas chromatography (GC). It was found that γ-tocopherol was higher in corn germ (58.89 mg/100 g) than in fiber, gluten and the raw corn kernel flour (1.96, 2.01 and 14.02 mg/100 g, respectively). Corn fiber showed a higher β-sitosterol content (294.36 mg/100 g) than germ, gluten and the raw corn kernel flour (31.11, 134.25 and 94.13 mg/100 g, respectively). In addition, corn gluten had a higher content of lutein (5074 µg/100 g) and zeaxanthin (6559 µg/100 g) than the germ, fiber and the raw corn kernel flour. Nutraceuticals and functional food ingredients from corn wet milling by-products offer health-promoting value and may alleviate the risk of cardiovascular diseases, oxidative stress and cancer.

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