2012 Annual Report 1a.Objectives (from AD-416): The overall research project has three objectives:. 1)characterize the interactions of arabinoxylan fiber, phenolics, and antioxidants during processing,. 2)develop analytical methods for phenolics and antioxidants, and. 3)determine the physico-chemical characteristics of bioactive compounds (arabinoxylans, phenolics, and antioxidants) during processing. Objective 2 will be conducted at the Food Composition Methods Development Laboratory (FCMDL). 1b.Approach (from AD-416): Samples provided by USDA-ARS Western Wheat Quality Laboratory will be initially used for optimization of sample preparation procedures for extraction of phenolic phytochemicals from wheat samples. Different cultivars of wheat samples will be used to collect spectral fingerprints and determine whether spectral fingerprinting methods can be used to differentiate wheat samples based on cultivar or other phytochemical traits. 3.Progress Report: Five spring wheat cultivars, Alpowa, Blanca Grande, Louise, Macon, and WestBred 936 were grown in eastern Washington region in 2009. Alpowa and Louise are soft white cultivars having soft grain (soft kernel texture) and carry the Purodinolines at the Hardness locus. Blanca Grande and Macon are hard white cultivars, and WestBred 936 is a hard red cultivar. The hard wheat’s carry a mutation in either Puroindoline a or Puroindoline b. Determination of phenolic acids, carotenoids, and tocopherols content was performed in all wheat flours samples. In addition, anti-inflammatory and antiproliferative activities were measured against HT-29 cells. Ferulic acid was the predominant phenolic acids, ranging from 452 to 731 µg/g among the five cultivars. Phenolic acids were primarily present in the insoluble, bound form. The only tocopherol quantified in the wheat flours was a-tocopherol, and it ranged from 12.2-61.0 µg/g, with the WestBred 936 variety containing the highest level. Lutein was identified in wheat flour extracts and ranging from 1.5 and 4.0 µg/g. The research results demonstrated that whole wheat flours of these five cultivars varied significantly in their contents of phenolics, carotenoids, and tocopherol as well as in their anti-inflammatory and antiproliferative potentials. We are currently investigating changes in the phytochemicals profile and their bioactivity during bread making process.