Distribution of 127 edible plant species for antioxidant activities by two assays

Abstract

AbstractEpidemiological studies have demonstrated the protective effects of fruit and vegetable consumption on human health. A total of 150 edible plants representing 127 species were evaluated for Trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity (TEAC) and superoxide scavenging (SOS) activity. Distributions of vegetables for TEAC and SOS were not continuous but highly skewed. TEAC values on a dry weight basis ranged from 0 to 2105 µmol TE g−1 and SOS values ranged from 0 to 6206 µmol ascorbate equivalent (AE) g−1. The majority of vegetables clustered within 200 µmol TE g−1 and 400 µmol AE g−1. Vegetable species were grouped into six classes after natural logarithm transformation of TEAC and SOS values. Most highly consumed vegetables fell in the very low to medium classes. Species in the very high class for both TEAC and SOS included leaves of Cedrela sinensis (Chinese cedar), Oroxylum indicum (Damocles tree), Cassia siamea (cassod tree) and Cassia tora (sickle senna). Edible plants high in antioxidant activity (AOA) were mostly perennial and underutilised crops, while commonly consumed vegetables were generally low in AOA. There is great potential to increase dietary antioxidants and improve human health through consumption of diverse vegetable species, especially those high in AOA. Copyright © 2006 Society of Chemical Industry