Original Research Article
Year: 2017 | Month: October | Volume: 7 | Issue: 10 | Pages: 210-223
Influence of Thermal Treatments on Polyphenolic Contents and Antioxidant Properties of Underutilized Edible Flowers of Nelumbo nucifera and Nymphaea alba
Arumugam Abirami, Gunasekaran Nagarani, Vazhayil Saipriya, Rajagopal Ashwathi, Perumal Siddhuraju
Bioresource Technology Lab, School of Life Sciences, Department of Environmental Sciences, Bharathiar University, Coimbatore – 641 046, Tamil Nadu, India.
Corresponding Author: Arumugam Abirami
ABSTRACT
The present study was proposed to investigate the antioxidant and radical scavenging property of aqueous acetone extract of raw flower petals and raw and processed (boiling and blanching) core parts from Nelumbo nucifera and Nymphaea alba. Total phenolics and tannin content of raw and processed petals and core extracts were ranged from 173.13 - 312.81mg/g extract and 149.50- 302.43mg/g extract respectively. In general, the processed core part extracts registered greater polyphenolic contents than the raw extracts. Interestingly, among the various processing methods, boiled core sample of N. alba registered higher DPPH (535121.6 mmol TE/g extract) and ABTS (302642.21 mmol TE/g extract), superoxide (74.92%), hydroxyl (73.4%) radical scavenging activity, metal chelating property (0.43 mg EDTA/g extract), FRAP (6156 mmol Fe (II)/g extract). These results revealed that processing methods significantly increased the content and potential of antioxidant components of N. nucifera and N. alba.
Key words: Nelumbo nucifera, Nymphaea alba, underutilized edible flowers, polyphenols, antioxidant activity.