Nutritional Analysis and Antioxidant Activity of Locally Consumed Selected Fruits and Vegetables in Bangladesh

Md. Jahangir Jahangir Alam; Shamsia Romana; Tahera Siddiqua; Raihan Mostafiz; Md. Abdul Alim

Abstract

Fruits and vegetables are rich source of antioxidants; they play an essential role in the prevention of different chronic diseases. The present study compared nutritional content, antioxidant activity, and beta carotene content of nine locally consumed fruits and vegetables cultivated in the different local regions of Bangladesh. These fruits and vegetables were locally consumed and usually underutilized instead of their significant nutritional component. On proximate analysis, the present study found that ash content in bilimbi and velvet apple was 2.51% and 2.46%, respectively which signify the rich sources of mineral content. The highest amount of crude fiber was found in wood apple 4.31% and second highest in edible fern 3.86%; also a significant amount was found in the other sample. The antioxidant activities were evaluated using 2, 2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl and the results indicated that the studied fruits and vegetables were good sources of antioxidants. The highest amount of antioxidant activity was observed in sugar apple and it was 94.11%. Other fruits and vegetables also contained a significant amount of antioxidants such as velvet apple 63.27%, rose apple 56.43%, wood apple 63.02%, bilimbi 68.65%, sapodilla 39.15%, purple yam 70.57%, edible fern 47.21%, and bathua 47.21%. Beta-carotene content was found highest in bathua 4.33 mg/100 g, and the lowest amount was found in purple yam 0.17 mg/100 g. Other samples were also rich in beta-carotene content such as edible fern 2.08 mg/100 g, bilimbi 1.76 mg/100 g, and rose apple 1.71 mg/100 g. In conclusion, the result indicated a promising approach for the development of functional food with considerable levels of antioxidant and beta-carotene content from local fruits and vegetables.

Abstract

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