Extraction and analysis of lutein and antioxidant activities from red spinach’s root, stem, and leaf

Abstract

Red spinach is leafy vegetable containing a high concentration of carotenoid such as lutein, which shows high benefits in anti-cancer and antioxidant to protect eye health from oxidative stress caused by cataracts and age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Because of the potential activity against eye disease, extraction to obtain high concentration of lutein from this vegetable is urgently needed. Generally, lutein from leafy vegetables extracted from leaf. This study presents extraction and analysis lutein and antioxidant activities from all parts of the red spinach, such as the root, stem, and leaf. The extraction using hexane solvent. The result showed that the lutein content in root, stem, and leaf of red spinach by HPLC analysis was almost equal for all parts, 62.63 ppm for the root, 63.30 ppm for the stem, and 62.63 ppm for the leaf. In addition, spinach leaf displayed weak antioxidant activities due to a low IC50 value of 208.64 ppm. In contrast, spinach’s root and stem showed very weak antioxidant activities due to high value of IC50 of 463.19 ppm and 428.67 ppm. In conclusion, spinach’s leaf, the root and stem are good sources of lutein because of their high lutein content, but the antioxidant activity of spinach’s leaf is categorized as weak, and spinach’s root and stem are categorized as very weak in their extract.