PHYTOCHEMICALS AND ANTIOXIDANT ACTIVITY OF TESTA EXTRACTS OF COMMERCIAL WET AND DRY COCONUTS AND CAKES

Abstract

Coconut testa is the brown colored outer thin layer covering the coconut kernel. It is a by-product obtained in the coconut processing industries through paring of wet coconuts to make products like virgin coconut oil, snow ball coconut, desiccated coconut and coconut milk. A study was carried out for the phytochemical screening and antioxidant activity of testa extracts. The wet coconut testa (WCT), copra testa (CT), copra cake (CC), wet coconut whole (WCW) and copra whole (CW) were investigated for the presence of phytochemicals and antioxidants. The extracts were found to contain carbohydrates, amino acids, glycosides, triterpenes, tannins, flavonoids, phenolics, and saponins. The IC50values (0.06-0.5 mg/ml) and reducing power were (0.5-9 g equivalent of TBHQ/100 g) of extracts indicate its antioxidant potential. The extracts contained phenolic acids, flavonoids, and total tocopherols. These studies indicated that the extracts from wet coconut testa had high antioxidant activity and contained many phytochemicals when compared to other coconut testa extracts.