The aim of the present work was to investigate the effect of solid-state fermentation with
Cordyceps militaris SN-18 on major antioxidant components, antioxidant activities and DNA
damage protection of oats. Various solvents with different polarities were used to extract
antioxidant components and ultra-high performance liquid chromatographic analysis was
conducted to determine the major individual phenolic compounds of the oat samples. The
results indicated that extraction yields, major phenolic compounds, antioxidant activities
and DNA damage protection of oats were significantly (p < 0.05) enhanced by fermentation,
and the acetone extract of fermented oats showed the strongest antioxidant activities.
Analysis of extraction yields revealed that the bioactive principles associated with DPPH
radical and ABTS·+ scavenging effect, reducing power was most efficiently extracted from
fermented oats using water. Additionally, fermented oat extracts demonstrated significantly
(p < 0.05) greater protection against oxidative DNA damage than non-fermented samples.
There was a strong correlation between the phenolic compounds and antioxidant activities.
Thus, the present study showed that fermented oats with enhanced antioxidant capacity
and DNA damage protection, which can be effective in the prevention of oxidative damageinduced
disease, therefore serve as nutraceuticals and functional foods in health promotion.