Amino Acid Profiles, Antimicrobial Activity and Anti-nutritional Contents of Two Wild Edible Plants (Sphenoclea zeylanica Gaertn. and Sphaerantus peguensis Kurz ex C.B. Clarke.)

Abstract

Background:The two wild plants viz. Sphenoclea zeylanica and Sphaerantus peguensis are seasonally consumed as vegetables by the Bodo people in Assam of North East India. Wild vegetables are considered as one of the cheapest sources for human nutrition that contains rich sources of numerous minerals and bioactive compounds which on consumption can contribute several health benefits against various diseases.Objective:The aim of the present study is to investigate amino acid profiles, antimicrobial property and anti-nutritional contents of the two wild edible plants.Methods:Amino acid profiles were determined by using ultra-performance liquid chromatography, antimicrobial activities of aqueous and methanol extracts of the plants were tested following the disc diffusion method against Bacillus cereus, Staphylococcus aureus, Proteus vulgaris and Escherichia coli, and anti-nutritional contents were evaluated based on the reported methods.Results:The total amino acid content found in S. zeylanica was 42.87 mg/g dry weight and it was found to be 32.65 mg/g dry weight in S. peguensis. The methanol extracts of the plants are exhibiting antibacterial activities against all the studied microorganisms. However, aqueous extracts showed no antibacterial activity against P. vulgaris and B. cereus. In this study, S. zeylanica species showed higher levels of anti-nutritional contents compared to S. peguensis.Conclusion:In the study, higher levels of essential amino acids were detected in S. zeylanica compared to S. peguensis. The methanol extracts of the plants showed more effective antimicrobial activities in comparison to the aqueous extracts and this may be due to the presence of antimicrobial compounds which are more readily soluble in methanol.