Phenolic Composition and Antioxidant Activity of Some Agro-industrial Wastes

Abstract

The present study investigated the content and profile of phenolic compounds, antioxidant activity of methanolic extracts of selected agroindustrial waste (AIW) i.e. date palm racemes (Phoenix dactylifera, DPR), Prickly pear peels (Opuntiaficus-indica, PPP) and empty pea pods (Pisum sativum L, EPP). Non phenolic constitutes of DPR were also analyzed by GC-MS. The oxidative stability of sunflower oil using these methanolic extracts was also investigated. The major phenolic compounds were rutin in PPP, myrecetin in EPP and quercetin in DPR. Amongst the three methanolic extracts, DPR revealed the highest scavenging activity with IC50 values of 21.6μg/ml, whereas EPP revealed the lowest scavenging activity with IC50 of 94.5μg/ml. A significant difference in lipid oxidation indices was noticed between the control and the sunflower oil samples containing DPR, PPP and EPP extracts.