Pigment identification, antioxidant activity, and nutrient composition of Tinospora cordifolia (willd.) Miers ex Hook. f & Thoms fruit

The stem, leaf, and root of Tinospora cordifolia (willd.) have been highly exploited for medicinal preparations; however, the nutritional and nutraceutical potential of its attractive red berries (fruits) have not so far been studied. Pigments, berberine (107.0 mg/100 g) and lycopene (50.8 mg/100 g), were identified in the deseeded fruit. Total phenol content in the fruit was 3.2 mg gallic acid equivalent/g. The IC(50) of DPPH· (82, and 468 ppm) and OH· (100, and 1,000 ppm) scavenging activity, and the EC(50) of reducing power (2,616, and 1,472 ppm) of hexane and methanol extracts, respectively, were observed. Oxygen radical absorbance capacities of the fruit extracts (150 and 300 ppm) were 1,107 and 2,614 μM trolox equivalent/g, respectively. Nutrient composition including carbohydrate (18.4%), proteins (1.5%), lipids (6%) of which ～62% was unsaturated fatty acids, vitamins like ascorbic acid (0.24 μg), niacin (0.7 mg), and tocopherols (2.4 mg) in 100 g fruits were determined. Potassium content was 1.2 g/100 g dry tissue of berries. These findings show that components of T. cordifolia fruit could be bioactive and used in food, pharmaceutical, and cosmetics.     

Characterization of phenolics,betacyanins and antioxidant activities of the seed,leaf, sprout,flower and stalk extracts of three Amaranthus species

Hydrophilic extracts from different parts including leaves, stalks, seeds, flowers and sprouts of 3 Amaranthus species (Amaranthus hypochondriacus, Amaranthus caudatus and Amaranthus cruentus) were characterized for their phytochemical profiles including the phenolics and betacyanins by UHPLC and LC–ESI–MS, and their antioxidant activities by FRAP and ORAC assays. The main betacyanins in Amaranthus samples were identified to be amaranthine and isoamaranthine. Eleven phenolic compounds (gallic acid, protocatechuic acid, chlorogenic acid, gentistic acid, 2,4-dihydroxybenzoic acid, ferulic acid, salicylic acid, rutin, ellagic acid, kaempferol-3-rutinoside and quercetin) were identified in the extracts of different parts of Amaranthus. The total phenolic content (TPC) ranged from 1.04 to 14.94 mg GAE/g DW; the total flavonoid content (TFC) ranged from 0.27 to 11.40 mg CAE/g DW; while the total betalain content (TBC) ranged from 0.07 to 20.93 mg/100 g DW. FRAP values ranged from 0.63 to 62.21 μmol AAE/g DW and ORAC ranged from 30.67 to 451.37 μmol TE/g DW. The leaves of Amaranthus showed the highest TPC, TFC, TBC, FRAP and ORAC values; while the seeds and stalks the lowest. There was a strong correlation between TPC, TBC, TFC and the antioxidant activity. The result suggests that all parts of the Amaranthus plant can be a good source of antioxidants.