A Study on Estimation of Phytochemical, Nutrition and the Antioxidant Activity of Dried Madhuca longifolia Flowers

Abstract

Abstract: Food derived phytochemicals possess various therapeutic properties to benefit the health of individuals against the illness or diseases caused due to oxidation of free radicals. Mahua (Madhuca longifolia) flowers are one of the most efficient therapeutic agents used through the ancient age mainly among the tribal communities. The present study aimed to analyze the phytochemicals content (both qualitative and quantitative) and antioxidant activity against DPPH (2, 2-diphenyl-1- picrylhydrazyl) of dried mahua flowers using aqueous extract. Phytochemical screening revealed the presence of alkaloids, flavonoids, phenols, terpenoids, cardiac glycosides, coumarins, and steroids whereas anthraquinone was absent in the qualitative analysis. The total phenol and total alkaloids content was found to be 107 and 12.28 mg/g dry extract respectively depicting it as an abundant source. The aqueous extract at the concentration of 8.64 μg/ml showed maximum inhibitory activity (IC50) against DPPH (2, 2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl). They are also rich in key nutrients such as carbohydrate (48.79 g/100g), fibre (19.16 g/100g) and iron (8.064 mg/100g) of the dry fruit. The reported data reveals mahua flowers to be an excellent source of phytochemical content, nutrition content and antioxidant property emphasizing its therapeutic potential. Thus, further investigation in this regard may contribute to its utilization in the field of nutraceuticals and pharmaco-therapy aiding against various chronic health conditions.