Antioxidative and antimutagenic activities of the extracts from the rinds of Garcinia pedunculata

Abstract

Abstract Diet rich in fruits and vegetables has been associated with preventing mutagenesis and cancer and other health benefits. In the present study, hexane and chloroform extracts from the fruit rinds of Garcinia pedunculata were tested for their antioxidative and antimutagenic activities. Both the hexane and chloroform extracts showed antioxidant activity studied through β-carotene–linoleate model system and α, α-diphenyl-β-picrylhadrazyl (DPPH) method at various concentrations. At 500 ppm concentration, in case of β-carotene–linoleate model system, the hexane and chloroform extracts of G. pedunculata showed 60 and 67% antioxidant activity respectively, whereas the free radical scavenging activity was 45% and 65%, respectively with DPPH method. The antimutagenicity of the hexane and chloroform extracts against the mutagenicity of direct acting mutagen sodium azide was determined by the Ames test. Both the extracts showed strong antimutagenicity at or above 1250 μg/plate in the tester strains of Salmonella typhimurium (TA100 and TA1535). However, the hexane extract showed higher antimutagenic potential than the chloroform extract. Thus, this preliminary study documents for the first time the antioxidant and antimutagenic properties of the extracts from the fruit rinds of G. pedunculata . Industrial relevance This study describes the antioxidative and antimutagenic activities of the extracts from the fruit rinds of Garcinia pedunculata . Oxidative stress has been linked to various diseases while food industry long has been concerned with issues such as rancidity and oxidative spoilage of foodstuffs. Natural antioxidants from plant extracts have attracted the attention of consumers due to probable mutagenic and carcinogenic properties of the synthetic antioxidants in food and there is an increasing demand for natural compounds in place of synthetic ones. Hence these extracts can be utilized as nutraceuticals and as food biopreservatives. Moreover, these fruit rinds of Garcinia pedunculata are rich in (−)-hydroxycitric acid (HCA), which is a proven natural antiobese agent. After extractions of these bioactive fractions, the residuals can be used for HCA extraction.