Phytochemicals in Some Common Vegetables  and Their Correlation with the Antioxidant  Activity

Gurpreet Kaur; Poonam Aggarwal

Volume : II, Issue : XII, December - 2013

Phytochemicals in Some Common Vegetables and Their Correlation with the Antioxidant Activity

Gurpreet Kaur, Poonam Aggarwal

Abstract :

The present investigation was undertaken to determine the phytochemicals and antioxidant activity of some common vegetables viz. Carrot, Tomato, Cabbage, Cucumber, Radish, Spinach, Bitter gourd and Bottle gourd. These phytochemicals are proved to be important factors in body defense system activity against reactive oxygen species. Antioxidants are helpful in combating the free radicals in body that cause cellular damage. The total phenolics were determined spectrophotometrically according to the Folin Ciocalteau procedure and ranged from 33.28 to 69.66 mg/100g Gallic acid equivalent(GAE), Ascorbic acid ranged from 4.59 to 67.21 mg/100g and the free radical scavenging activity was determined using 2,2,-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl( DPPH) that ranged from 22.31 to 50.22 per cent. The correlation between antioxidant activity and total phenols and vitamin C was found to be linear. The results indicated that such vegetables containing high phenolics and vitamin C may provide a source of dietary anti-oxidants that have preventive and therapeutic roles in a number of human diseases.