In the present study, total phenolic content and antioxidant property of wheat (54% ethanolic extract)
was drastically enhanced when fermented with two GRAS filamentous fungi, Aspergillus oryzae and Aspergillus
awamori nakazawa. A. oryzae yielded significant (P < 0.05) amounts of phenolic compounds, DPPH
(2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) and ABTS+ [2,20
-azinobis (3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid)] scavenging
properties on 4th day of incubation compared to A. awamori on 5th day of incubation. A linear
correlation was observed between total phenolic contents and activities of three different carbohydrate
hydrolyzing enzymes (a-amylase, b-Glucosidase and xylanase) produced by A. oryzae. However, in case of
A. awamori nakazawa, only two enzymes (xylanase and b-glucosidase) were mainly responsible for the
release of phenolics. This study demonstrated that fermented wheat grain is a better source of phytochemicals
compared to non-fermented wheat. In addition, different carbohydrate cleaving enzymes are
responsible for the improvement of phytochemical properties of fermented wheat.