This study was to investigate antioxidative activity of rice grain using 1, 1-Diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl(DPPH) and thiobarbituric acid (TBA) method and germination ability for screening rice varieties with high antioxidative activities on korean native and foreign rice varieties harvested in 1998 and 1999. The average antioxidative activity of foreign rice varieties (DPPH 63.5% and TBA 55.2%) was significantly higher than that of native rice varieties (DPPH 47.2% and TBA 45.6%) on varieties harvested in 1999. The promptness index (PI) of native rice varieties was higher in stored rices for three months (mean PI=160.7) than that of stored rices for a year (mean PI=141.6). On the other hand, the PI of foreign rice varieties was higher in stored rices stored for a year (mean PI=176.7) than that of stored rices for three months (mean PI=157.5). Varieties with high redness of hulled rice (a-value) showed significant lipid peroxidation inhibitory activity to DPPH in a stored rices for a year (r=0.5744** ) and stored rices for three months (r=0.5630** ) . These results indicate that the pigments of hulled rice varieties may play important antioxidative roles and colored rice varieties with higher antioxidative potentials can be developed and also may provide information with rice breeder to breed rice variety with a high antioxidative activity for a rapid screening of a small amounts of a large number of samples using color value.

• Ill Min Chung
• Kwang Ho Kim
• Joung Kuk Ahn
• Jin Ohk Lee