Antioxidant Capacities of Some Food Plants Wildly Grown in Ayvalik of Turkey

Abstract

This study aims to investigate the total antioxidant capacity (TAC) as trolox equivalent (mmol g(-1)) of nineteen edible wild plants traditionally used in Ayvalik using four different assays, CUPRAC, ABTS, FRAP and Folin. The order of ten plants exhibiting the higher capacities could be listed as: Daucus carota (1(st) wrt CUPRAC, ABTS, and FRAP), Sonchus oleraceus (2(nd) wrt CUPRAC, ABTS, and FRAP), Sonchus asper (3(rd)), Rumex pulcher (4(th) wrt CUPRAC, ABTS, and Folin), Cichorium intybus (5(th) wrt CUPRAC, ABTS, and Folin), Papaver rhoeas (7(th) wrt CUPRAC, ABTS, and FRAP), Foeniculum? vulgare (8(th) wrt CUPRAC and FRAP), Urtica pilulifera (6(th) wrt CUPRAC, 8(th) wrt Folin), Rumex acetosella (7(th) wrt Folin, 9t(h) wrt CUPRAC and FRAP), and Nasturtium officinale (11(th) wrt CUPRAC and Folin). The three edible wild plants (Daucus carota, Sonchus asper subsp. glaucescens and Sonchus oleraceus) with CUPFAC antioxidant capacities of 0.37 +/- 0.05, 0.31 +/- 0.03, and 0.34 +/- 0.05 mmol trolox g(-1), respectively, may be considered as a potential source of natural antioxidants to be incorporated in current diets to protect human health. CUPRAC method proved to be most effective among electron-transfer based TAC assays since it responded to a wide variety of hydrophilic and lipophilic antioxidants.