Polyphenol and Flavonoid Contents and Antioxidant Activity in Freshly Consumed Rocket (Eruca sativa)

Abstract

Rocket (Eruca sativa) salad is commercially important it is taken as freshly cut ready to make salads necessary as nutritional characteristics. In the present study, alcoholic, flavonoid and anthocyanin extracts of E. sativa leaves cultivated in Kurdistan Region of Iraq was determined by in several methods including β -Carotene- linoleic acid assay, reducing power assay, H2O2scavenger, and total antioxidant capacity. The antioxidant activity of fresh rocket leaves was determined as well. Temperature, pH and storage time that effecting on their activity as antioxidant was also studied. The results illustrate that alcoholic extract yield was 29.13%, about 25.2 % of alcoholic are flavonoid compound, while anthocyanin yield 18.8% (g/g raw material). Total phenolic contents in E. sativa, have been quantified using beer law. Total flavonoid contents were also measured. The study shows that E. sativa is a good source of phytochemicals (total phenols 5, 3.3, and 1.3 mg TAE/g raw materials) and (total flavonoid 0.81, 1.04 and 0.44 mg QE/g raw materials) for alcoholic, flavonoid and anthocyanin extracts, respectively. All extracts illustrated high antioxidant potential. PH, thermal study and storage which carried to detect the remaining activity of the plant extracts show that antioxidant activity reduced with increasing the time of boiling, storage and different pH values.