Phytic acid level in edible grain derivatives in the Canary Islands (gofioand frangollo)

The phytic acid content of hand-produced grain derivatives (gofio and frang ollo) commonly consumed in the Canary Islands was determined. A total of 38 0 samples of gofio from different cereals (90 from wheat, 120 from corn, 60 from rye, 110 from barley) and 100 samples of frangollo were analyzed. The method proposed by Garcia-Villanova et al, in 1982 was used for determinat ion of phytic acid content in cereal flours. Phytic acid concentrations are within the range >3-greater than or equal to 12 mg/g for gofio, and >3-gre ater than or equal to 9 mg/g for frangollo. The arithmetic means obtained f rom all the samples studied were 6.97 mg/g for gofio and 6.54 mg/g for fran gollo. On analyzing the phytic acid content in all the gofio samples per ce real, significant differences were observed for the different gofio types. Corn gofio has a lower phytic acid content than rye and wheat gofios and a similar phytic acid content to barley gofio. There are no differences in ph ytic acid content among wheat, rye and barley gofios.