Abstract
The common buckwheat, Fagopyrum esculentum Moench (Polygonaceae) is a gluten-free pseudocereal that has been gaining in popularity in recent years as a low-calorie and nutrient-rich healthy food option. Buckwheat farming is common in Eastern European countries and the Far East, while in the UK and other Western European countries, the plant has limited medicinal or food applications. The vegetative parts, particularly the leaves and flowers, are among the best-known sources of the bioactive compound, rutin. Hence, functional foods originated from buckwheat leaves are common, although the scope of such applications is limited by phototoxicity associated with the fagopyrin composition. Here, the antioxidant and rutin composition of the leaves of the plant grown in the UK are assessed. The methanol extract of the leaves displayed a potent DPPH (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) radical scavenging effect along with reducing power. Quantitative High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC)-based analysis showed the rutin content of the leaves as 3417 mg/100g (on dry weight (DW) basis). The identity of rutin was also confirmed by isolation and structural elucidation based on spectroscopic studies. From the chemical content analysis, including fagopyrin levels and the antioxidant assays, UK-grown buckwheat has potential as a commercial source of rutin or as a functional food.
Highlights
The common buckwheat, Fagopyrum esculentum Moench (Polygonaceae), is a pseudocereal that contains the bioactive compound rutin (Figure 1) in high yield
Among the health benefits claimed in recent years, buckwheat’s green leaves have been shown to display a range of pharmacological effects through antioxidant mechanisms [9,10,11,12,13]
As a single dominant active principle, this antioxidant effect has been shown to correlate with the high content of rutin in common buckwheat [22,23]
Summary
The common buckwheat, Fagopyrum esculentum Moench (Polygonaceae), is a pseudocereal that contains the bioactive compound rutin (Figure 1) in high yield. Along with related bioflavonoids in the seeds, have been shown to have numerous pharmacological activities that would give buckwheat seeds the acclaimed health benefits [1]. The proteins in buckwheat seeds have been claimed to have numerous health benefits, including hypocholesterolaemic, anti-inflammatory, and antioxidant effects, suppressing gallstones and tumors, and inhibiting the angiotensin I-converting enzyme [1,2,3]. Other health benefits of buckwheat seeds that attribute to their carbohydrate, proteins, fibres, and other macromolecular composition have been well documented [3]. In view of the macromolecular components including starch and proteins, the potential utilisation of buckwheat both as a gluten-free diet in human consumption and as animal fodder have been advocated [4,5,6,7,8].
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