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2000
Volume 4, Issue 1
  • ISSN: 2666-8629
  • E-ISSN: 2666-8637

Abstract

Background

Spices and herbs have been a natural source of antioxidants for many years. Spices and herbs have been shown to have medicinal properties that are attributed to the phytochemicals present in them. Thus, a comparative study on phenolic content and antioxidants in some common Indian spices/ herbs like ginger, garlic, onion, bay leaf, cumin, and coriander was undertaken in the present study.

Materials and Methods

Total phenolics and total antioxidant activity (DPPH radical scavenging) were estimated in water as well as methanolic extracts of the spices/herbs. Catalase and peroxidase enzyme activity was estimated spectrophotometrically in the aqueous extracts of spices/herbs.

Results

The highest catalase and peroxidase activity was estimated in ginger. Phenolic and antioxidant content were also highest in the ginger methanolic extract. The antioxidant content in the methanolic extracts of ginger, bay leaves, onion, and garlic was significantly higher than that in the water extract (-value <0.001).

Conclusion

Our results showed that the selected Indian spices and herbs are rich in phenolic constituents and demonstrate good antioxidant activity. Although much of the antioxidant capacity of plant extracts has been shown to be contributed by phenolic compounds, the present study did not show any significant correlation between the two. This indicated that compounds other than phenolics can serve as good sources of natural plant-based antioxidants. Therefore, they need to be studied and explored further. Moreover, solvents used for extraction significantly affect the results, and therefore, they need to be considered while interpreting results.

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Antioxidant Capacity and Phenolic Content of Some Indian Spices and Herbs
Curr Func Foods 4, e26668629346873 (2026); https://doi.org/10.2174/0126668629346873241227104501
/content/journals/cff/10.2174/0126668629346873241227104501
/content/journals/cff/10.2174/0126668629346873241227104501
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  • Article Type:     Research Article
Keyword(s): Antioxidants; catalase; DPPH radical scavenging; peroxidase; phenolics; spices and herbs

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