Research Article Nutritional Properties and In Vitro Antidiabetic Activities of Blue and Yellow Corn Extracts: A Comparative Study Aleksandra J. Smorowska, 1 Anna K. ˙ Zolnierczyk , 2 Agnieszka Nawirska-Olsza ´ nska , 1 J´ ozef Sowi ´ nski , 3 and Antoni Szumny 2 1 Department of Fruit,Vegetable and Plant Nutraceutical Technology, e Faculty of Biotechnology and Food Science, Wrocław University of Environmental and Life Sciences, Ul. Chełmo´ nskiego 37, 51-630 Wrocław, Poland 2 Department of Chemistry, e Faculty of Biotechnology and Food Science, Wrocław University of Environmental and Life Sciences, Ul. C. K. Norwida 25, 50-375 Wrocław, Poland 3 e Faculty of Life Sciences and Technology, Institute of Agroecology and Plant Production, Wrocław University of Environmental and Life Sciences, Pl. Grunwaldzki 24A, 50-363 Wrocław, Poland Correspondence should be addressed to Anna K. ˙ Zołnierczyk; anna.zolnierczyk@upwr.edu.pl Received 8 August 2020; Revised 10 January 2021; Accepted 15 January 2021; Published 25 January 2021 Academic Editor: Seyed Mohammad Taghi Gharibzahedi Copyright © 2021 Aleksandra J. Smorowska et al. is is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. e objective of this research was to designate and identify the profile of fatty acids, sterols, and polyphenol compounds and to demonstrate the antidiabetic activity, in blue corn extracts (BCE) in comparison with the yellow variant of this raw material. All of the maize lines, including the blue corn, were grown in Europe (southwestern part of Poland) and not in the place of origin (South America). In the extracts of the blue corn variety, eight anthocyanin compounds were isolated. e compound found in the largest amount was pelargonidin, followed by cyanidin-3-glucoside and other glycoside derivatives. Unsaturated fatty acids were the main ones found in the lipid fraction of blue and yellow corn, including linoleic acid and oleic acid. Saturated fatty acids, such as stearic and palmitic acid, were present in smaller amounts. e blue corn’s sterol profile was similar to other varieties of this corn, with β-sitosterol and campesterol occurring in the largest amount, alongside smaller amounts of stigmastanol and stigmasterol. e blue corn variety was characterized by a high content of polyphenolic compounds, which show several biological activities, including antidiabetic activity. e strongest in vitro antidiabetic effect was found in the blue corn lines. Among the polyphenolic compounds in both the blue and yellow corn varieties, in the largest amounts, were caffeic acid, procyanidin B2, and gallic acid. Despite the known and proven biological activity of polyphenolic compounds, the fat fraction showed the highest in vitro antidiabetic activity in the BCE studied. 1. Introduction e mountainous terrain of Peru is the place of origin of blue corn. From there, the cultivation of this grain spread to Mexico, Guatemala, and Bolivia. Currently, blue corn is grown all over the world, though most widely in South America. On a smaller scale, cultivation trials have been undertaken in Poland, Turkey, the United States, and many other countries [1, 2]. e colour of blue corn stems from the accumulation of anthocyanins in the aleurone layer that surrounds the endosperm in the kernels. e examined structure of an- thocyanins in blue varieties showed 16 different anthocya- nidins, including, in the largest amount, cyanidine-3- glucoside constituting approximately 75% of the antho- cyanidins, followed by pelargonidin-3-glucoside and peo- nidin-3-glucoside [2, 3]. e structure of blue corn grain allows for economic use of the raw material. e outer layer of the grain containing a large amount of anthocyanins can be removed to obtain natural dyes, and the remaining elements can be used to make flour, ethanol, feed, food additives, and many other Hindawi Journal of Food Quality Volume 2021, Article ID 8813613, 10 pages https://doi.org/10.1155/2021/8813613