AbstractBACKGROUNDThe by‐products of seven different cereal grains were investigated as a source of extractable oil, rich in lipophilic bioactive compounds.RESULTSOil yields (g kg−1 DW) recovered from cereal by‐products were as follows: 189 (rice bran) > 112 (wheat germ) > 74 (corn bran) > 58 (oat bran) > 41 (buckwheat bran) > 39 (spelt bran) > 33 (wheat bran) > 27 (rye bran). The main fatty acids identified in the studied oil samples were palmitic acid (11.39–17.23%), oleic acid (11.76–42.73%), linoleic acid (35.54–62.65%) and α‐linolenic acid (1.05–9.46%). The range of total tocochromanols and phytosterols in the obtained oils was 0.369–3.763 and 1.19–35.24 g kg−1 of oil, respectively. The oils recovered from buckwheat and corn bran, and wheat germ were dominated by tocopherols (99.9, 84.2 and 96.5%, respectively), whereas the oat, rice, rye, spelt, wheat bran oils were rich in tocotrienols (73.9, 79.6, 78.1, 90.6 and 73.8%, respectively). The campesterol and β‐sitosterol constituted 10.1–32.5 and 30.4–63.7%, respectively, of total phytosterols contents identified in all of the studied samples.CONCLUSIONThe present study demonstrated that oils recovered from the cereal by‐products are richer sources of bioactive compounds, compared with traditional oils. © 2015 Society of Chemical Industry