ESTIMATION OF TOTAL PHENOLIC AND FLAVONOID CONTENT OF SOME CUCURBIT FRUIT PEELS AND IN-VITRO EVALUATION OF THEIR METHANOLIC EXTRACTS FOR ANTIOXIDANT POTENTIAL

Objective: To analyze In vitro antioxidant activity, total phenolic and flavonoid content of methanolic extract of some cucurbit fruit peels. Methods: Phytochemical screening of extracts was carried out. Aluminium chloride colorimetric method was used to estimate TFC (total flavonoid content), and TPC (total phenolic content) was measured by Folin-ciocalteu method. Two different assays- DPPH free radical scavenging and FRAP were used for the determination of antioxidant activity. Results: The total phenolic content was found to be maximum in Cucumis melo i.e. 42.64 ± 0.85 mg GAE/gdw, and minimum in Cucumis sativus i.e. 8.52 ± 0.74 mg GAE/gdw. Total flavonoid content was found to be maximum in Cucumis melo i.e. 4.71 ± 0.67 mg QE/gdw and minimum in Citrullus lanatus i.e., 0.74 ± 0.31 mgQE/gdw. Results of DPPH Scavenging activity and FRAP assay revealed that all the peel samples had a significant antioxidant potential, where Cucumis melo show the highest antioxidant potential. Conclusions: Results of the present study showed that the selected fruit peels of cucurbit family have bioactive compounds of commercial importance. All the samples showed antioxidant activity, indicating that they can be used as a new source of natural antioxidant compounds and can be used for therapeutic purposes.