Comparative Analysis of Antioxidant Properties of Water Extract of Centepede Grass and Festuca
Comparative Analysis of Antioxidant Properties of Water Extract of Centepede Grass and Festuca
Comparative Analysis of Antioxidant Properties of Water Extract of Centepede Grass and Festuca
COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF
ANTIOXIDANT PROPERTIES OF WATER
EXTRACT OF CENTEPEDE GRASS AND
FESTUCA
Garima Gupta, Charu Sharma, Anamika Verma
Department of Biotechnology, CET-IILM-AHL, Greater Noida
ABSTRACT
The grasses- Poaceae (Gramineae), grass family of monocotyledonous flowering plants is the most important group of useful
plants. Some of the grass species have been proved to show therapeutic effect and have been effective in treatment of
inflammation and sclerosis as they contain bioactive components called antioxidants which delay or prevent the oxidation of
cellular substrates. These antioxidants exert their effect by scavenging reactive oxygen species (ROS) or preventing their
generation. ROS are usually generated in physiological processes to produce energy and metabolites or to generate defenses
against invasive microorganisms but can also cause oxidative damage associated with many degenerative diseases such as
cardiovascular disease, cancer and neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinsons and Alzheimers diseases. Polyphenols like
flavonoids and phenolic acids are one of the most important natural antioxidants present in this grass family. Examples of
flavonoids are glycosides of apigenin, luteolin and tricin and examples of phenolic acids are ferulic acid, caffeic acid and phydroxybenzoic acid. These compounds show a wide spectrum of chemical and biological activities including radical
scavenging activity. This paper will discuss the comparative analysis of total phenolic compounds present in two different
members of Poaceae family, i.e. Centipedegrass (Eremochloa Ophiuroides) and grass. The paper will also highlight the total
flavonoid content in both the samples with the help of aluminium chloride colorimetric method and the estimation of reducing
power of these samples. The results indicated that Festuca grass is a better natural source of antioxidant compounds then
centipede grass, for use in food and pharmaceutical industry.
ABBREVIATIONS
TCP
TFC
WEC
GAE
RE
FW
1.INTRODUCTION
Natural antioxidants, particularly in fruits and vegetables have gained increasing interest among consumers and the
scientific community because epidemiological studies have indicated that frequent consumption of natural antioxidants
is associated with a lower risk of cardiovascular disease and cancer (Renaud et al., 1998; Temple,2000). The defensive
effects of natural antioxidants in fruits and vegetables are related to three major groups: vitamins, phenolics, and
carotenoids. Ascorbic acid and phenolics are known as hydrophilic antioxidants, while carotenoids are known as
lipophilic antioxidants (Halliwell, 1996). Recent studies on cultured mammalian cells and animals indicate that
polyphenolic compounds from numerous fruits and vegetables exert several health-promoting functions, including
reducing the risks of cancer and heart and neurodegenerative diseases (Joseph et al., 2005, Vita 2005). Besides that,
epidemiological studies also show positive associations between intake of fruits and vegetables and reduced mortality
rate from heart diseases, common cancers, and other degenerative diseases (Kaur and Kapoor, 2001; Art and Hollman,
2005; Scalbert et al., 2005). The free-radical scavenging capability and consequent antioxidant properties of the
phenolics play an important role in protecting the cells and tissues from oxidative stress and other biological effects
associated with these chronic diseases (Rimbach et al., 2005). The contents of phenolic compounds and their
antioxidant activity in selected grass species have been poorly investigated. Therefore, testing their antiradical
properties is of interest, primarily in order to find new sources of natural antioxidants.
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1.1. Mechanism
DNA is continuously attacked by reactive species that can affect its structure and function severely. Structural
modifications to DNA mainly arise from modifications in its bases that primarily occur due to their exposure to
different reactive species. Apart from this, DNA strand break, inter- and intra-strand crosslinks and DNAprotein
crosslinks can also affect the structure of DNA significantly. These structural modifications are involved in mutation,
cancer and many other diseases. As it has the least oxidation potential among all the DNA bases, guanine is frequently
attacked by reactive species, producing a plethora of lethal lesions. DNA damage by reactive species has created
profound interest in the medicinal fraternity because of the involvement of reactive species in different pathological
conditions such as cancer, aging, neurodegenerative diseases, rheumatoid arthritis, etc. Reactive species such as free
radicals, one-electron oxidants, different chemicals, etc., can react with different components of DNA to produce a
plethora of DNA lesions. These reactive species can modify bases, induce inter and intra strand crosslinks, promote
DNA protein crosslinks and create strand break.
3. RESULTS
3.1. Total phenolic content
The variation of the total phenolic content of WEC and WEF sample is presented in Table 1. TPC of the extract was
expressed as mg GAE/g FW. The TPC in both the grass samples varied considerably, and Festuca contains 14% more
phenol content then centipede grass.
Table 1: Total phenolic content of WEC
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4. DISCUSSION
WEF showed high polyphenolic and flavonoid content as well as strong antioxidant potential as compared to centipede
grass. The raw material i.e Festuca being inexpensive and easily available should be regarded as potential nutraceutical
resource, capable of offering significant nutritional dietary supplements. Also the natural antibiotics in the form of
phenols and flavonoids can be easily extracted and thus it offers opportunities to formulate value added products in
nutraceutical and food applications to enhance health benefits.
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