Abstract

EVALUATION OF ANTIOXIDANT ACTIVITY AND NUTRACEUTICAL PROPERTY OF ANNONA SQUAMOSA L. FRUITS FOUND IN BRAHMAPUTRA VALLEY AGRO-CLIMATIC CONDITION

Dr. Aniruddha Sarma,* Debaleena Kashyap, Pranjal Sarmah, Shally Sultana Choudhury

ABSTRACT

The plant Annona squamosa L. belongs to the family Annonaceae and is commonly known as custard apple. It is native to West Indies but also found in almost every tropical part of the world. The plant is attributed with medicinal properties like anti-fertility, anti-tumor and antimalarial activities. The present study was designed to evaluate the nutraceutical properties and antioxidant activity of the fruits of A. squamosa. The antioxidant activity was evaluated by using 1,1- diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) free radicals and the IC50 value of methanolic extract of A. squamosa was found to be 26.21± 1.34 μg/ml. Among the nutraceutical properties carbohydrate, protein, crude fibre, total phenolic content and ascorbic acid were investigated. The result Reveals that A. squamosa have a high nutraceutical value. The study has revealed that the fruits can be used as dietary supplement as well as therapeutic agent as they would exert several beneficial effects by virtue of their antioxidant activity.

Keywords: Annona squamosa, antioxidant activity, total phenolic acid, ascorbic acid, DPPH, Gallic acid.