Abstract
Guava (<em>Psidium guajava </em>Linn.) is well-known throughout the world for its food, nutritional, and medicinal properties. Several guava cultivars/varieties are available in Sri Lanka, which can be classified as common, wild, or introduced. Though common guava has been extensively studied for its phytochemistry and pharmacology, only a few studies on wild varieties has been available so far. Therefore, this study focused on the investigation of phytochemical constituents and antioxidants capacity of two main wild guava varieties grown in Sri Lanka namely, <em>Psidium guajava </em>(cv. Getta-pera) and <em>Psidium guineense </em>(cv. Embul-pera). An Ultrasound-assisted-extraction technique was used to extract plant constituents, and water was used as the solvent. The phytochemicals were qualitatively and quantitatively analyzed using standard methods whereas the antioxidant capacity was determined using the DPPH and FRAP assays. Phytochemical screening revealed that both varieties contain most of the important phytochemicals. Though both showed higher anti-oxidant activity, Embul-pera had the highest in both the FRAP and DPPH assays, with 612.69±0.50 mg Trolox Eq/g and IC50 value of 191.69±0.25 ppm respectively. The highest level of all quantified phytochemicals, particularly polyphenolic content (327.87±0.23 mg GAE/g extract) was found in Embul-pera. As a conclusion, two wild guava varieties considered in the study contain a diverse phytochemical profile and higher antioxidant properties similarity to the common guava. It can be recommended that Getta-pera” and “Embul-pera” are excellent alternatives to be used in functional foods and nutraceuticals preparation and hence to promote the cultivation as economic plants.
Highlights
The genus Psidium (Family: Myrtaceae) is native to the Tropical and Subtropical Americas and contains approximately 92 species worldwide
The common guava, pink and white - fleshed middle size fruit, is available throughout the country whereas strawberry guava and sour-guava are mostly found in the southern province of Sri Lanka and introduced varieties can primarily be obtained from the Fruit Crops Research and Development Centre (FCRDC), Horana, Sri Lanka [5]
2.5.1 DPPH Radical Scavenging Assay With some modifications, the free radical (FR) scavenging activity of guava leaves aqueous extracts were determined using the standard protocol described in the literature [18],[19]
Summary
The genus Psidium (Family: Myrtaceae) is native to the Tropical and Subtropical Americas and contains approximately 92 species worldwide. The common guava, pink and white - fleshed middle size fruit, is available throughout the country whereas strawberry guava and sour-guava are mostly found in the southern province of Sri Lanka and introduced varieties can primarily be obtained from the Fruit Crops Research and Development Centre (FCRDC), Horana, Sri Lanka [5] Both getta-pera and common guava are cultivars of P. guajava. Research on Sri Lankan guava varieties needs to be strengthened for popularizing many verities among the public and to promote them as agricultural crops, and transform them into functional foods With this understanding, this study was led to screen and quantify the phytochemicals and evaluate the antioxidant capacity of aqueous extracts of leaves from two wild varieties of guava, getta-pera (P. guajava) and embul-pera (P. guineense). Nonconventional extraction techniques i.e. ultrasound-assisted extraction, was used to make efficient extraction via reducing extraction time, solvent consumption and increase of extraction yield
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