Screening of Nutritional, Phytochemical, Antioxidant and Antibacterial activity of the roots of Borassus flabellifer (Asian Palmyra Palm).

Abstract

Borassus flabellifer Linn., of the Arecaceae family is locally called as Tal, English Name: Palmyra palm. The roots were investigated for it’s nutritional, phytochemical and nutraceutical properties. The nutritional analysis of the roots has shown 8.54% protein content, 23.53% carbohydrates, 7.29% crude fibre and negligible fat content. These roots are found to be high in calories. MP-AES analysis has shown these edible roots contain some amount of iron (1.38 ppm) and traces of aluminium, arsenic, strontium, lead, manganese, copper and zinc. All assays were carried out in hexane, chloroform and methanol extracts of the dried roots. Highest yield was obtained in methanol extract. Total phenolic content of hexane, chloroform and methanol extracts were obtained as 36.3, 89.24 and 99.34 µg GAE/100 mg of extract respectively. Flavonoid content for hexane, chloroform and methanol extracts was obtained as 222.7, 275.25 and 98.48 µg catechin equivalents per 100 mg of extract respectively. The methanol extract of the dried roots obtained an antioxidant potential of ABTS (IC50 = 2 mg/ml) and according to FRAP assay, the highest antioxidant activity was obtained in chloroform extract (129.6 µg BHT/100 mg extract). Moreover, antibacterial assays did not show any activity for the five test organisms taken at different concentrations. The phytochemical analysis showed the presence of 1.61% alkaloids and 0.63% saponins and GC/MS screening of the extracts revealed the presence of fatty acids, alkanes, alkenes, ketones, aldehydes, diterpenes, phytols, and sterols. Thermal Desorption System was used for profiling of volatile and semi-volatile compounds which are responsible for flavor and fragrance in the sample. This also showed that the roots are good source of Vitamin E. Thus, this study depicts that these fruits, with rich nutrients, can be used in health promoting benefits.