Alpha-Tocopherol Content in 62 Edible Tropical Plants

Abstract

Vitamin E was determined by the high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method. All the plants tested showed differences in their alpha-tocopherol content and the differences were significant (p < 0.05). The highest alpha-tocopherol content was in Sauropus androgynus leaves (426.8 mg/kg edible portion), followed by Citrus hystrix leaves (398.3 mg/kg), Calamus scipronum (193.8 mg/kg), starfruit leaves Averrhoa belimbi (168.3 mg/kg), red pepper Capsicum annum (155.4 mg/kg), local celery Apium graveolens (136.4 mg/kg), sweet potato shoots Ipomoea batatas (130.1 mg/kg), Pandanus odorus (131.5 mg/kg), Oenanthe javanica (146.8 mg/kg), black tea Camelia chinensis (183.3 mg/kg),papaya Carica papaya shoots (111.3 mg/kg), wolfberry leaves Lycium chinense (94.4 mg/kg), bird chili Capsicum frutescens leaves (95.4 mg/kg), drumstick Moringa oleifera leaves (90.0 mg/kg), green chili Capsicum annum (87 mg/kg), Allium fistulosum leaves (74.6 mg/kg), and bell pepper Capsicum annum (71.0 mg/kg). alpha-Tocopherol was not detected in Brassica oleracea, Phaeomeria speciosa, Pachyrrhizus speciosa, Pleurotus sajor-caju, and Solanum melongena.

Papaya: A gifted nutraceutical plant - a critical review of recent human health research

“…Finally, the identified active components of papaya extract are observed to inhibit tumour cell growth and to stimulate anti-tumour effects (Otsuki et al, 2010). In the leaves of papaya, components previously reported to potentially have anti-tumour activity includes tocopherol (Ching and Mohamed, 2001), lycopene (van Breemen and Pajkovic, 2008), flavonoid (Miean and Mohamed, 2001), and enzylisothiocyanate (Basu and Haldar, 2008). A recent review conducted by Nguyen et al (2013) indicated that to date no clinical or animal cancer studies were identified and only seven in vitro cell-culture-based studies were reported; these indicate that C. papaya extracts may alter the growth of several types of cancer cell lines.…”

A review of the literature and latest advances in research ofPiper sarmentosum

“…Moreover, the plant is not found to have anti-nutritive factors such as cyanide and inhibitors of trypsin and chymotrypsin (Yeoh & Wong, 1993). The plant is found to have good nutritive value due to high contents of proteins (Ching & Mohamed, 2001) and carbohydrates as well as primary and secondary metabolites (Hussain et al, 2008b(Hussain et al, , 2009a. Leaves contain α-tocopherol, 10.02% of dry mass and 5.97% of fresh mass (Ching & Mohamed, 2001).…”

Antihypoxic and antioxidant activity of <i>Hibiscus esculentus</i> seeds

“…Studies have confirmed okra seeds as a good source of oil and protein (Karakoltsidis and Constantinides 1975). Okra seed oil is rich in unsaturated fatty acids such as linoleic acid (Savello et al 1980) and its fruit is a rich source of α-Tocopherol (Ching and Mohamed 2001) which are essential for human nutrition. In addition, the Okra seed has high contents of minerals including Ca, Cu, Fe, Mg, Zn, P (Akpanabiatu et al 1998).…”