Value of ethnic foods in meeting antioxidant needs: the wild plant connection

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the antioxidant activity of uncommon vegetable extracts of five taxa viz. Bacopa monnieri, Boerhaavia diffusa, Eclipta alba, Cissus quadrangularis and Solanum nigrum. They were also evaluated for ascorbic acid, beta-carotene, tocopherol, total soluble phenols, phenolic acids and minerals. Atomic spectroscopy, reverse phase high performance liquid chromatography and analytical methodologies were adopted for the study. Ascorbic acid content ranged from 10.4 mg/100 g fresh tissue in Bacopa to 22.8 mg/100 g fresh weight in Solanum. P-carotene and tocopherol profile varled from 15.4 to 25.6 mg/100 g fresh weight and 10.5 to 15.2 mg/100 g fresh weight, respectively. Most of the species had significantly high phenolic content (208 to 329 mg/100 g fr.wt.). A positive strong correlation was observed between phenols and phenolic acids such as cinnamate, coumarate, caffeate, chlorogenate, ferulate, gallic and hydroxyl benzoic acids among the taxa. The samples were good sources of nitrogen, phosphorus, calcium, magnesium, potassium, sulphur, iron, manganese, zinc and copper. The last three elements function additionally as antioxidants and protect specific regions of enzymes from the radical attack and thus preserving its stability and activity.