Common plant foods consumed in Korea are rich source of phytochemicals

Abstract

Commonly consumed plant foods (n=95) in Korea were selected and stratified according to botanical family names. Carotenoids and tocopherols were measured by reverse‐phase HPLC, total phenols by the Folin‐Ciocalteu reaction, and antioxidant capacity by the Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity assay. β‐Carotene and lutein content were highest in the Compositae, Umbelliferae, and Goosefoot families at 3.10–4.13 and 5.66–7.69 mg/100 g FW, respectively. Tocopherols were identified mainly in the Legunimosae family. Total phenols were highest in Umbelliferae followed by Leguminosae and Compositae at 149.3–199.3 mg gallic acid equivalents/100 g FW. Antioxidant activity was also high in Umbelliferae, Leguminosae and Compositae families. The top 20 plant foods containing high levels of β‐carotene, lutein and total phenols as well as showing high antioxidant activities were, in general, traditional Korean green leafy vegetables such as Myeong Il Yeop, red pepper leaves, Perilla leaves, Mugwort, whereas only parsley, spinach, lettuce, and carrot were in the list of top 20 foods among common western plant foods. Thus, leafy green vegetables from the Compositae and Umbelliferae families, especially those commonly consumed in Korea, are rich in phytochemicals with high antioxidant capacity in vitro. [Supported by USDA ARS 1950‐51000‐065‐08S, USA and BioGreen 21 #20070301034009 RDA, Korea]