Rubus niveus (Kala Hisalu) is an economically value-added wild edible berry of the Kumaun Himalayan region. Human beings consume it as a vital source of nutraceuticals leading to increase its additional value. Present study is focused on the comparative analysis of phytoconstituents, free radical scavenging activity and nutrient and anti-nutritional composition of R. niveus berries in two different solvent system i.e. ethanol and water. The in vitro free radical scavenging activity has been investigated by three different assays i.e. DPPH, H2O2 and NO and propounded that ethanolic extracts consist of more active constituents to scavenge different stable and generated radicals than aqueous extracts. This analysis is also supported by the phytochemical studies (estimation of phenols, flavonoids and tannins). The correlation, regression and one way ANOVA analysis also statistically support the results. A positive correlation was found in between phyto- constituent and radical scavenging activity. The results obtained from this investigation revealed out that these are equally competent and could be recommended as dietary supplements or as nutraceuticals.
Food and Nutrition security is the main problem faced by developing and underdeveloped countries. Proper utilization of wild edible plants for nutrition security is a great choice for reducing the wastage of these powerful foods. The present investigation has been made to understand the nutritional and phytochemical parameter of selected underutilized fruits such as Diospyros kaki, Pyrus pashia, Ficus semicordata, Diploknema butyracea, Pyracantha crenulata, and Rubus niveus. The proximate analyses showed that Diospyros kaki is most promising fruit with 44.86 mg/g carbohydrate, 9.29 mg/g protein, 81.31, 7% moisture and 1.1% little amount of ash content. Micronutrient iron was quantify highest in Pyracantha crenulata (3.52 mg/100g) and zinc in Rubus niveus(8.13 mg/100g). Phytochemical screening was recorded in the ethanolic and aqueous extract, in which Phenolic and flavonoid content were highest in ethanolic extract of Rubus niveus; 64.05 mg GAE/gm, 108.83 mg QE/ g extract respectively and tannin content was highest in case of Diospyros kaki (79.94 mg TAE/100g of extract). The free radical scavenging activity of fruits have been analyzed by DPPH, H2O2 and NO assay; it was observed that the ethanolic extract of Rubus niveus fruit is most promising with an IC50value 16.97μg/ml. In contrast, aqueous extract scored IC50value 28.86μg/ml. The lowest IC50 value was found in aqueous extract of Diospyros kaki i.e., 81.9μg/ml in DPPH assay. The potential usage of these plants will help the people of these regions to combat nutrient deficiency diseases. Further development of research may help us to come out with powerful functional foods using these fruits.
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