Valorization of the whole grains of Triticum aestivum L. and Triticum vulgare L. through the investigation of their biochemical composition and in vitro antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anticancer and anticalpain activities Nadia Amessis-Ouchemoukh a, * , Salim Ouchemoukh b , Tassadit Benchibane a , Dolores Hernanz c , Carla M. Stinco d , Francisco J. Rodríguez-Pulido d , Francisco J. Heredia d , Khodir Madani a , Jos  e Luis e a Laboratoire de Biomathematiques, Biochimie, Biophysique et Scientometrie, Faculte des Sciences de la Nature et de la Vie, Universite de Bejaia, 06000, Bejaia, Algeria b Laboratoire de Biochimie Appliquee, Faculte des Sciences de la Nature et de la Vie, Universite de Bejaia, 06000, Bejaia, Algeria c Department of Analytical Chemistry, Facultad de Farmacia, Universidad de Sevilla, Sevilla, Spain d Food Colour and Quality Laboratory, Department of Nutrition and Food Science, Facultad de Farmacia, Universidad de Sevilla, Sevilla, Spain e Aix Marseille Universite, INSERM U911, Faculte de Pharmacie, 27 bd Jean Moulin, 13385, Marseille Cedex 05, France article info Article history: Received 1 December 2016 Received in revised form 10 April 2017 Accepted 17 April 2017 Available online 5 June 2017 Keywords: Wheat species Phytochemical composition Antioxidant activities Anti-calpain activity abstract Two locally grown wheat species named Triticum aestivum L. and Triticum vulgare L. were studied for their phytochemical contents and their biological activities. T. vulgare presented the highest amounts of total phenolic compounds and ascorbic acids while T. aestivum was found to be rich in flavonoids, fla- vonols, proanthocynidins and ortho-diphenols. Eleven carotenoids were identified in T. vulgare where the most dominant compounds belongs to a-carotene and its derivatives while T. aestivum presented seven carotenoids. This later presented the highest DPPH radical scavenging activity and exhibited a strong reducing power in FRAP, phosphomolybdenum, hydrogen peroxide and reducing power assays. T. vulgare extract was found to be effective in metal chelating power and in scavenging nitric oxide radical. No significant differences in scavenging ABTS and hydroxyl radicals were noted between the two wheat species. T. aestivum inhibited xanthine oxidase and ROS production and showed the best cytotoxic effect while T. vulgare extract exhibited anti-calpain activity. © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction Since a long time, wheat is considered as a major crop and is ranked among the most consumed grain worldwide. Triticum aes- tivum L. and Triticum vulgare L. are cereals belonging to the Gra- mineae (Poaceae) family, their height can reach 60e150 cm, but may be as short as 30 cm. Leaves are long and narrow having glabrous or hairy on one or both surface while stems are hollow and tufted. Wheat grain is oval and has a color ranging from white to red. Botanically, the grain of wheat is not a seed, but a particular fruit, a caryopsis. Its length varies from 7  a 9 mm, its width varies from 3 to 4 mm, and it has a thickness of 4e5 mm. Generally, its weight can range from 30 to 50 mg and includes three essential parts: enve- lopes (13e16% of the total grain weight), floury almond (82e84% of total grain weight) and the germ (2e3% of the total grain weight) (Patel and Patel, 2013). Depending on the variety and composition, wheat is used for the elaboration of several food products such as bread and fine cakes obtained from hard wheat flour which is rich in gluten and pasta products such as macaroni and spaghetti obtained from durum wheat flour (Adom et al., 2003). Grains represent a very interesting source of antioxidants in our Abbreviations: EMEM, Eagle’s Minimal Essential Medium.; FBS, Fetal Bovine Serum.; MTT, Methylthiazolyldiphenyl-tetrazolium bromide.; RRLC, Rapid Resolu- tion Liquid Chromatography.; CIE, International Commission on Illumination.; DPPH, 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrilhydrazyl; ABTS þ , 2,2-azinobis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline- 6-sufonic) acid.; FRAP, Ferric-Reducing Antioxidant Power; XO, Xanthine Oxidase.; ROS, Reactive Oxygen Species; RFU, Relative Fluorescence Units; HBSS, Hank’s medium Balanced Salt Solution. * Corresponding author. E-mail address: amessisnadia@yahoo.fr (N. Amessis-Ouchemoukh). Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Journal of Cereal Science journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jcs http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jcs.2017.04.017 0733-5210/© 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Journal of Cereal Science 75 (2017) 278e285