Antioxidant activity and HPTLC profile of Lagenaria siceraria fruits

Abstract

Abstract:The fruits of Lagenara scerara Standl. (Cucurbitaceae) are widely used for medicinal and nutritional purposes in Africa. The health promoting ability of the fruits might be related to antioxidant properties of its constituents. In this study the antioxidant effect of fresh and dried fruits of L. scerara was evaluated by comparing the 2,2-diphenyl-1,1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging and reducing capacity of ethyl acetate and n-butanol extracts of fresh and dried fruits. The comparison was further emphasized by high performance thin layer chromatography (HPTLC) analysis of the extracts so as to relate activities with their chemical profiles. Results indicated that ethyl acetate (EA) extract of the fresh fruits exhibited higher DPPH radical scavenging activity than other samples. At 0.01 mg/ml the order of activity was: EA dried fruits (50.6%) < Bt (n-butanol) fresh fruits (53.3%) < Bt (n-butanol) dried fruits (64.8%) < EA fresh fruits (68.6%) < Gallic acid (81.8%). A slight change of activity was observed at 0.1 mg/ml, where the order was; EA dried fruits (70%) < Bt dried fruits (71.8%) ≤ Bt fresh fruits (72%) < EA fresh fruits (81.6%) < Gallic acid (88.5%). In the reducing capacity assay, Bt fresh fruits extract exhibited higher reducing power than all test samples. The HPTLC chemical profiles of both fresh and dried fruit extracts showed some slight differences. The slight differences in antioxidant activities were justified by the HPTLC chemical profiles of the fruits. Therefore, taking fresh or dried fruits of L. scerara may relatively give similar antioxidant effects. Since the fruits of this plant matures in bulky, then drying, milling and packing the products under hygiene environment can ensure a constant supply of antioxidant supplement. _______________________________________________________________________________________

Lipid-Lowering and Antioxidant Functions of Bottle Gourd (Lagenaria siceraria) Extract in Human Dyslipidemia

“…28 Oxidative stress is known to be associated with all lifestyle disorders including coronary heart diseases. 29 The study confirmed that regular consumption of freshly prepared aqueous extract of bottle gourd fruit results in marked improvement in biomarkers of oxidative stress. Our observations on antioxidant potential of Lagenaria siceraria fruit extract corroborates with the observation of earlier worker.…”

Genetic and Pre- and Postharvest Factors Influencing the Content of Antioxidants in Cucurbit Crops

“…or M. dioica, also show a remarkable content of antioxidants not only in the fruits, but also in the leaves, roots, and other organs. The antioxidant properties of important cucurbit crop species have been analysed in several studies [267][268][269][270][271], but the potential of many others remains unexplored. The high variability of the family, which includes more than 800 species in about 130 genera [27], might lead us to find new sources of bioactive compounds among unexplored species, but also to identify new functional molecules.…”

Nutritional and Medicinal Potential ofLagenaria siceraria

“…The major groups of phytochemicals believed to act as antioxidants include polyphenols, carotenoids, and vitamins C and E. L. siceraria fruit contain these antioxidant compounds (Deshpande et al, 2008;Erasto and Mbwambo, 2009;Irshad et al, 2010). An ethanolic extract of L. siceraria epicarp contains antioxidant compounds equivalent to 50 mg·kg −1 of vitamin C plus 50 mg·kg −1 of vitamin E (Deshpande et al, 2008).…”