[Evaluation of selected cereal products as a source of thiamine and niacin in diet]

The priority of the modern diet should be as follows, low processed cereal products that contain high level fiber and vitamins B as well as the products that have low glycemic index. The best source of thiamine and niacin are grain food products which regulate body energy balance, nervous system, circulation as well as fulfill the role as cofactors of enzymes in the human body.

The purpose of this study was to determine and evaluate the concentration of thiamine and niacin in selected cereal products.

Eleven kinds of pasta and rice were used in this studies. Thiamine and niacin were determined in the free form. During the analytical process the acid hydrolysis and enzymatic technique were used. The HPLC method with ultraviolet for determination of thiamine and niacin were applied. The content of thiamine was determined by the length of the 254 nm and niacin 258 nm waves in various cereal products.

The obtained results shown that the best source of thiamine and niacin was wild rice (0.59 +/- 0.02 mg and 6.13 +/- 0.06 mg respectively) while the lowest content of analyzed vitamins was in the examined vitamin-enriched pasta bits (0.06 +/- 0.01 mg and 0.42 +/- 0.02 mg).

The analyzed cereal products were characterized by a variable content of tested vitamins. The most significant amount of vitamins B is higher in the examined rice than pasta. It was shown that the richest source of thiamine and niacin was the wild rice.