Evaluation of Nutritional Value and Antioxidative Properties of The Medicinal Plant Gynura procumbens Extract

Abstract, Asian Journal of Plant Sciences, 2010

The present study determined nutritional value in various parameters such as moisture content, carbohydrate, protein, lipid as standard methods and evaluated the antioxidative properties of the medicinal plant Gynura procumbens Extract by hydroxyl scavenging activity, ferrous ion-chelating activity and inhibition of lipid peroxidation. The highest extraction yield was obtained from extraction with distilled water (84.51%). While, Ethanolic Gynura extract (EGE) exhibited the highest in the antioxidative properties in every assay, EC₅₀ = 1.63 in hydroxyl scavenging test, EC₅₀ = 2.17 in chelating activity test and EC₅₀ = 2.75 in inhibition of lipid peroxidation test. Although, the content still low (186.25±0.00018 to 300.18±0.0003 μg GAE g^-1 of extract). According determination the nutritional values was found that Gynura procumbens Extract were containing the contents of moisture was 7.08%, carbohydrate was 0.0537 to 0.1968 μg glucose equivalent/100 g dry weight at EGE 0.1 μg mL^-1, protein was 4.51 g/100 g dry weight and lipid was 0.023 g/100 g dry weight. These results suggest that Gynura Extract is a good protein source and that they may have positive effects on free radical scavenging and iron chelating which may use as preliminary information and develop further to be commercially useful in food industry or health products as medicinal food.