A Comparative Study on the Effect of Seasonal Variation in the Phenolic Compound Concentration and the Antioxidant Properties in Five Common Leafy Vegetables

Author: Shalaj Rasheed, Anakha R., Bini Babu, Rajeshwari D., Abhirami B, Anand A.R., Ancy Varghese, Devika Gopinath, Navya N.S., Parvathy V., Riya Reji, Vandhana Sivan, Maneesha M. and Lubaina Abdulhadeef Shereefa

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Abstract

Metabolites in plants are the chemical compounds derived as the result of primary or secondary metabolism. Like that of primary metabolites the secondary metabolites also have greater importance in plant and human lives. Phenols, alkaloids, flavonoids, tannins, steroids, terpenoids and saponins are belong to this group, and which provide shelter to the plants from various Reactive oxygen species produce by the result of different environmental and biotic stresses. Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) recognized as toxic byproducts of aerobic metabolism and also they played an important role in plants, controlling process such as growth development and especially response to biotic and abiotic environment stimuli. The cellular oxidation caused by ROS were alleviated in plants by producing non enzymatic and enzymatic ROS scavengers popularly known as antioxidants. The production of ROS were varied with respect to the seasons having different stressful conditions. Increased level of ROS were counter attacked by plants through the production of various antioxidants. Thus, their level also varied with respect to the concentration fluctuation of ROS and seasons. The major challenge of the study is to detect the variation in the concentration of phenols and identified the antioxidant property variation against the four different seasons such as winter, summer, south west monsoon and north east monsoon in five common leafy vegetables - Amaranthus hypochondriacus L., Murraya koenigii L., Cucurbita maxima L., Brassica oleracea L. and Moringa oleifera L. The result of the study revealed that the maximum antioxidant activity and phenolic concentration was reported in all plants in summer and winter seasons than the monsoon. During these seasons the plants faced much more abiotic stresses in addition to the internal stresses. In some plant specimens, the winter or summer is the season for flowering or prepared for reproduction. Thus, that will also make stresses in them along with environmental stresses. Moringa oleifera and Murraya koenigii showed high phenolic concentration and antioxidant property among the five studied plant specimens in all the seasons. This type of studies give an awareness to the people about the concentration of various secondary metabolites in plants in different seasons. Since man used many leafy vegetables directly after cooking or not, their higher concentration may negatively affect the human health.

Keywords

Reactive Oxygen Species, Antioxidant compounds, Amaranthus hypochondriacus L., Murraya koenigii L., Cucurbita maxima L., Brassica oleracea L. and Moringa oleifera L

Conclusion

Plants are blessed with a large number of secondary metabolites that are produced by them as the part of their adaptations and defence against various biotic and abiotic factors. These phytochemicals with antioxidant properties have a plenty of uses in human life also. Phenols, alkaloids, flavonoids, tannins, terpenoids, saponins, steroids etc. are the common metabolites in plants, of these carbon based metabolites such as phenolic compounds are one of the major antioxidant in plants. The production and action of these antioxidant compounds varied with the variation of seasons having different environmental conditions. The present study aimed to identify the total phenolic content and antioxidant property in five leafy vegetables such as Amaranthus hypochondriacus, Murraya koenigii, Cucurbita maxima, Brassica oleracea and Moringa oleifera with respect to varied seasons. The result of the study revealed that the antioxidant activity and phenolic compound concentration is altered in different seasons. In all the plant materials, the antioxidant property and TPC are maximum during summer and winter seasons due to the impact of environmental factors and the stress behind the reproductive changes. Among the five plant materials, Murraya koenigii L. showed the high TPC and antioxidant property; Cucurbita maxima L., Brassica oleracea L. revealed lowest content of phenol and antioxidant property.

References

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How to cite this article

Shalaj Rasheed, Anakha R., Bini Babu, Rajeshwari D., Abhirami B, Anand A.R., Ancy Varghese, Devika Gopinath, Navya N.S., Parvathy V., Riya Reji, Vandhana Sivan, Maneesha M. and Lubaina Abdulhadeef Shereefa (2023). A Comparative Study on the Effect of Seasonal Variation in the Phenolic Compound Concentration and the Antioxidant Properties in Five Common Leafy Vegetables. Biological Forum – An International Journal, 15(5): 273-277.