Abstract
The overlapping nutritional and nutraceutical benefits of green leafy vegetables provides a better support for the well-being of human. This study was aimed at investigating the antioxidant, antimicrobial and phytochemical components of the methanol extracts from selected under-utilised green leafy vegetables (Basella alba and Basella rubra). The in vitro antioxidant activities of the extracts were measured using 1, 1-diphenyl-1-picryl hydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging activity and ferric reducing antioxidant power, the antimicrobial activities were evaluated using the agar diffusion assay. Basella plant showed good fibre content up to 21.73±0.37%. The phenolics content ranged between 0.4 and 5.07mg/g GAE (Garlic Acid Equivalent) with Basella alba recording the highest value of 5.07mg/g GAE, while the flavonoids content of basella plant ranged between 4.00 and 9.87mg/gCAE (Catechin Equivalent). The radical scavenging antioxidants activities (DPPH) of Basella plant was more noticed in the leaves fraction with 55.32% while the Ferric ion reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) was in the range of 0.33 and 3.30mg/g and the seed fraction of Basella alba had the highest FRAP at 3.30mg/g. Basella plant extracts showed moderate antimicrobial action against Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus cereus, Klebsiella pneumonia, Aspergillus niger and Aspergillus flavus at 500ppm (minimum inhibition concentration). Based on the results of the work reported herein, Basella plants can be said to be a good source of basic nutrients, bioactive compounds and natural antioxidants.
Highlights
Consumption of fruits and vegetables has attracted attention since biochemical studies have demonstrated a clear and significant positive correlation between regular intake of natural food products and reduced rates of degenerative diseases [1]
The organisms used were obtained from the Department of microbiology, University of Ibadan; Gram positive Bacteria (Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus cereus), Gram negative bacteria (Klebsiella pneumonia) and fungi (Aspergillus niger and Aspergillus flavus), all the chemicals used were of analytical grade
The variance in percentage yield of the plants across the different parts analysed could be due to variation in level of maturity, collection locations and the moisture content, but generally Basella plant leaves showed superior yield compared to the leaves fraction of other well-known vegetables like Amaranthus viridis 14.2%, Amaranthus hybridus 15.0%, Lactuca Taraxicofolia 10.7%, Solanum aethiopicum, 11.8% and Telfairia occidentalis 12.1% as described by Adetutu et al, 2013
Summary
Consumption of fruits and vegetables has attracted attention since biochemical studies have demonstrated a clear and significant positive correlation between regular intake of natural food products and reduced rates of degenerative diseases [1]. Nutraceuticals are a combination of nutritional and pharmaceutical compounds that act as medicines [2] and are becoming more widely accepted as an adjunct to conventional therapies [3]. Many of these “folk-medicines” are beneficial beyond their nutritional values because they contain a variety of plant secondary compounds such as anthocyanins, tannins, carotenoids, flavonoids, phenols and antioxidants among others [4]. The use of plant extracts with known antimicrobial properties can be of great significance in therapeutic treatments and a number of studies have been conducted in different countries to establish this fact [8]
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