Phytochemical, Nutritional And Antioxidant Activity Evaluation Of Fruits Of Ziziphus Nummularia Burm. F.

Abstract

In the present work, we have investigated nutritional, phytochemical content and antioxidant activity of ripe fruits of Ziziphus nummularia Burm. f., one of the underutilized plants distributed in drier parts of North Western India. Fruits were quantitatively analyzed for their total phenolic, flavonoid and flavonol content colorimetrically. Nutritional properties including moisture, fats, carbohydrates, proteins, ash content and mineral content in the fruits were also estimated. The antioxidant properties were evaluated using free radical scavenging, ferric reducing antioxidant power and metal chelating assays. The effect of using different methods of extraction and different solvents on yield of phytochemicals and antioxidant activity was compared and in most cases, acetone extracted sample showed higher yields and strong antioxidant activity. The study demonstrated that Z. nummularia fruits are good source of nutritional and antioxidant components and thus hold potential for nutraceutical development.