Antioxidants in oats : Glyceryl esters of caffeic and ferulic acids

Of the antioxidants extracted from oats, 36% (by weight) consists of six compounds which are more strongly adsorbed on to silicic acid than those previously described, ¹,² One of these has been isolated by column chromatography. On hydrolysis it yields caffeic acid (2 moles), ferulic acid (1 mole), glycerol (1 mole) and long-chain ω-hydroxyacid (1 mole). The ω-hydroxyacid fraction contains the homologues, C₂₂ (5%), C₂₆ (64%), and C₂₈ (31%). The probable structures of the compounds are discussed.