Food Chemistry Advances (Oct 2023)
Collating antioxidant, reducing and metal chelating properties of spices and Acacia
Abstract
Condiments and spices are the minor dietary constituents used in cuisine to enhance aroma and flavors. Dietary constituents such as spices are source of phytochemicals and micronutrients. Star anise (Illicium verum), Cinnamon (Bay) leaves (Cinnamomum zeylanicum), and Cobra's saffron (Mesua ferrea) are used as spices for culinary purposes. Acacia (Acacia catechu) is a relatively unpopular dietary constituent used in betel quid (in south Asia), and in alternative medicine. The above mentioned dietary constituents were used (as test samples) to evaluate the mechanism of their antioxidant potential through 1,1-diphenyl-(2,4,6-trinitrophenyl) hydrazine (DPPH) radical scavenging activity, bleomycin dependent DNA oxidation, ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) and through metal chelation. Cobra's saffron and Acacia displayed highest DPPH radical scavenging, followed by Cinnamon leaves and Star Anise. The reducing power (measured indirectly through DNA oxidation in presence of bleomycin-FeCl3) was significantly high for Acacia, and least for Cinnamon leaves, similar to their FRAP values. Contrarily, the metal chelation by Cinnamon leaves and Cobra's saffron was highest, and least by Star Anise, indicating that the Cinnamon leaves contains phytochemicals that have high metal chelating properties, but comparatively diminished radical scavenging and reducing power. The data suggests that the spices and Acacia display in-vitro antioxidant potential by various mechanisms, such as neutralizing free radicals through reduction / electron donation and chelating metal ions. The potency of the test extracts varied in different antioxidant assays, probably owing to the different phytochemicals present in these extracts. The wide variety of phytochemicals present in these dietary constituents may act synergistically to confer health benefits.
