Mineral Composition and Bioaccessibility in Asteracantha longifolia (L.) Nees

Abstract

Asteracantha longifolia (L.) Nees. (AL) a small, spiny weed found in marshy places. It is reported for its "antitumor, hypoglycemic, aphrodisiac, antibacterial, free radical scavenging and lipid peroxidation, hepatoprotective activities" 3 . Accompanying its uses for a medicinal purpose the plant is also used as a leafy vegetable in some states of India. Hence study of mineral composition of Asteracantha longifolia (L.) Nees and its bioaccessibility is crucial along with studying phytoconstituents of this plant. Nutritional food value of the plant can be accessed by in-vitro gastrointestinal simulation in the form of Bioaccessible Fraction (BF). The bioaccessibility of minerals found in the plant is not investigated thoroughly, mainly in functional foods. Therefore, in this research work we have subjected shade-dried powdered material of AL to ICP-AES qualitative and quantitative analysis. The results revels presence of the essential elements like Calcium (Ca) at 814.5 ppm with %BF 96.5, Magnesium (Mg) at 169.2 ppm with %BF 102.8 and micronutrients like Iron (Fe) at 5.3 ppm with %BF of 25.0, Manganese (Mn) at 4.1 ppm with %BF 100.9 and Zinc (Zn) at 0.6 ppm with %BF 31.6. Successively based on the findings it is concluded that AL has good nutritional value.