Chemical and Phytochemical Characteristics of Local Corn Silk Powder of Three Different Varieties

Abstract

Corn silk is a part of the corn plant that is still considered to be waste from corn processing; however, corn silk is actually known to have the potential to be developed as functional food ingredients and/or nutraceuticals. The potential applications of corn silk are closely related to its chemical composition and the action mechanisms of its bioactive compounds, which have beneficial effects on human health, such as flavonoids and phenolics. This study aimed to investigate the chemical and phytochemical characteristics of local corn silk powder of three different varieties, i.e. Bisma, Arjuna, and Srikandi Putih. Phytochemical and proximate analyses were conducted on each sample of corn silk powder. The total phenolic content was examined using the Folin-Ciocalteau method, while the beta sitosterol was analysed by gas chromatography and the antioxidant activity of the extract was evaluated using the DPPH (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) method. The results show that all samples had different amounts for their moisture, ash, protein, fat and carbohydrate contents from the proximate analyses. The Bisma variety of corn silk powder reveals the highest fat and protein contents, which are 0.30%±0.02 and 17.70 ±0.47, respectively. Furthermore, the highest total phenolics, total flavonoids, beta-sitosterol contents and antioxidant activity for the corn silk powder are also demonstrated by Bisma; i.e. 8262.93±178.59 μg gallic acid equivalent (GAE)/g for total phenolics, 236.03±8.37 μg gallic acid equivalent (GAE)/g for total flavonoids, 1343.93±78.44ppm for beta-sitosterol and 73%±1.09 for antioxidant activity. Thus, it may be suggested that among the three local varieties of corn silk, a corn silk powder from the Bisma variety could be developed as a source of bioactive compounds and nutrients to convert corn silk from being waste into value-added corn products.

Herbal tea formulation using different flavoured herbs with dried corn silk powder and its sensory and phytochemical analysis

“…Infusion of corn silk tea (control) contained 68.30 ± 0.41 mg RE/100 g, which was found significantly lowest (P ≤ 0.05) in comparison to all other flavoured corn silk tea. Our finding was almost in range with the study of [36,37] who stated that total flavonoid contents in corn silk teas were ranging from 30.1 to 88.8 μg RE/g. This variation may be due to the extraction procedure differences as well as varietal differences in corn [38].…”

“…Nowadays, much attention has been directed towards the identification of plants antioxidant that can be used for human consumption. Corn silk was a by-product of maize, it has been consumed traditionally as a medicine owing to its antioxidant properties, phytochemical ingredients and free radical scavenging activity [35,36].…”

Fungal Pathogens of Maize Gaining Free Passage Along the Silk Road

“…Another difference between the silk-entering pathogens may be that U. maydis favours the high moisture and nutrient levels of unpollinated silks, while the other pathogens utilize more carbohydrates in pollinated silks. Varieties of maize have different levels of moisture, ash, protein, fat, and carbohydrate in the silks [77]. Overall, immature, unpollinated silks contain more fat, protein, moisture, macronutrients, and micronutrients than mature silks with fertilised, ripened grain [16].…”

The Optimization of Temperature and Length of Extraction of Local Corn Silk Powder Using Response Surface Methodology

“…Chemical analysis was carried out on fibers (soluble, insoluble, and total fiber) using the enzymatic method [19], thermo gravimetric method (loss on drying) moisture content, which is determined by constant temperature and ash is determined. By measuring the muffle furnace [19], protein content using the Micro Kjeldahl method [19], fat content using the Soxhlet method [19] and carbohydrate content using carbohydrate by difference [19] and phytochemical corn silk includes: total phenol [20], flavonoids [11], betasitosterol [21], and antioxidant activity [20].…”

“…Corn silk is rich in phenolic compounds, especially flavonoids and natural antioxidant compounds which are high in different amounts and the proportion depends on corn varieties [10]. The local Bisma corn variety has the best phytochemical content compared to the other two varieties, Arjuna and Srikandi Putih [11]. Also showed that the Bisma variety had higher salinity resistance than Arjuna [12].…”