The rye flour is, together with the wheat flour, the basic ingredient used in traditional bread baking. The rye grain contains many compounds with significant impacts on the consumer. Considering that, various biologically active phytochemicals were determined in extracts from mature grains of 19 rye genotypes (Secale cereale L.). The content of total phenols, flavonoids, phenolic acids and thiols, as well as antioxidant activities and inhibitory activities against trypsin, thrombin, and urokinase were analyzed by spectrophotometric methods. The vanillic acid, vanillin, p-coumaric acid, and t-ferulic acid were analyzed in particular by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The observed differences in the amounts and activities between rye genotypes reflected variations in their genetic background. Rye grain is a remarkable source of specific phytochemicals. Genetic diversity in rye makes it possible to identify individual genotypes that have a unique content and biological activity of compounds deposited in mature grains. One subgroup of rye genotypes had higher values of antioxidant properties and concentrations of polyphenols. Other sub-group had higher proteinase inhibitory activities and contents of polyphenols. The third sub-group contained as though the universal genotypes, i.e. genotypes with average values in nearly all the measured parameters.

Oats are important cereals. Oats are a good source of protein and lipids, polyphenolics, phenolic acids, flavonoids and avenanthramides. Avenanthramides is phenolic group, which is unique in oats and have antioxidant activity, anti-inflammatory, anti-atherogenic and anti-proliferative effect. The aim of study is determination of the majoritarian avenanthramides (2c, 2p and 2f) and phenolic acids (p-coumaric and ferulic) in selected varieties of oat (Avena sativa L.) grown in two consecutive years using the HPLC method. The oats were exposed to ultrasound supported extraction (two 15 min cycles).The simultaneous separation was performed using C18 type of stationary phase. The method showed a good linearity in the concentration range 0.04 -5.24 µg/mL for p-coumaric acid, 0.04 -5.13 µg/mL for ferulic acid, 0.19 -24.5 µg/mL for avenanthramide 2c, 0.53 -17.1 µg/mL for avenanthramide 2p, 0.8 -25.6 µg/mL for avenanthramide 2f. Correlation coefficients were higher than 0.9997. Detector operated at a wavelength 320 nm. The repeatability of the method was evaluated in three concentration levels with satisfactory results for each analyte. The content of both phenolic acids is significantly lower (50--100-times) compared to the total content of avenanthramides in both years' harvests for all analyzed varieties. Content of total avenanthramides was the highest in varieties Racoon (723.28 mg/kg) followed by Oliver (578.59 mg/kg) and Kamil (384.17 mg/kg).