Phytochemical composition and antioxidant activities of some wild edible plants locally consumed by rural communities in northern Uganda

Frontiers in Nutrition

Nutrition

Geoffrey Maxwell Malinga¹  Alfred Nyero²  Innocent Achaye²  Godwin Upoki Anywar³ 

[1]Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Gulu University, Gulu, Uganda

[2]Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Gulu University, Gulu, Uganda

[3]Department of Plant Sciences, Microbiology and Biotechnology, College of Natural Sciences, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda

关键词: polyphenolic compounds;    phenolics;    methanolic extracts;    in vitro;    wild leafy vegetables;    radical scavenging activity;   

DOI  :  10.3389/fnut.2023.1070031

 received in 2022-10-14, accepted in 2023-02-27,  发布年份 2023

来源: Frontiers

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundAcalypha rhomboidea, Asystacia gangetica, Crassocephalum sacrobasis, Crotalaria ochroleuca, Heterosis rotundifolia, Hibiscus cannabinus, Hibiscus sp., Hibiscus surratensis, Ipomoea eriocarpa, Maerua angolensis, Senna obtusifolia and Vigna membranacea are among the common wild edible plants in the Acholi sub-region, northern Uganda. This study evaluated the phytochemical constituents and antioxidant potential of the plants.MethodsFresh leaves collected from each plant species were air-dried under shade. The phytochemical contents of the ethanol and petroleum ether extracts were determined using standard protocols. The antioxidant content of the methanolic extracts was assessed by 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) assay.ResultsPreliminary phytochemical analyses indicated the presence of tannins, reducing compounds, alkaloids, flavonoids, flavons aglycones, flavanosides, anthracenosides, anthocyanosides, volatile oils, coumarins, steroid glycosides, sterols and triterpenes. However, the extracts did not contain any emodols and saponins. The results of the quantitative phytochemical analysis showed that the contents of different phytochemicals detected varied significantly (p < 0.05) among the selected plants. The amount of tannins in mg/g (gallic acid equivalent) of dry weight varied from 3.90 ± 0.16 in C. ochroleuca to 10.41 ± 0.78 in I. eriocarpa, total flavonoids in RE, mg/g dry matter from 4.07 ± 0.11 in I. eriocarpa to 14.94 ± 0.08 in S. obtusifolia. Total alkaloids in mg/100 g ranged from 1.59 ± 0.30 in I. eriocarpa to 6.37 ± 0.24 in Hibiscus sp. Total phenolic content in GAE, mg/g dry matter ranged from 13.39 ± 0.26 in A. rhomboidea to 64.25 ± 0.54 in I. eriocarpa. The in vitro antioxidant assays revealed substantial free radical scavenging activity in all the plants. Antioxidant activity expressed as IC50 (ppm) ranged from 13.39 for A. rhomboidea to 64.84 for I. eriocarpa, compared to 12.82 for ascorbic acid standard. The total phenolic compounds and total tannins had significant and positive correlations with DPPH free radical scavenging activity.ConclusionThe findings of this study provide evidence that the species are good natural sources of phytochemicals and antioxidants, whose regular consumption could provide human health benefits by protecting against oxidative stress related diseases. Further research is needed on the structural characterization of the phytochemicals, profiling the plant extracts with high antioxidant activity and determining the antimicrobial activities.

【 授权许可】

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Copyright © 2023 Nyero, Anywar, Achaye and Malinga.