Nutritional, phenolic content and antioxidant activities of vegetables introduced under protected cultivation at high altitude areas of Tawang, Arunachal Pradesh, India

Abstract

A field experiment was conducted for nutritional profiling of vegetables at Defence Research Laboratory, Research and Development Centre (DRL R&D Centre), Tawang during winter season cultivated under protected conditions. The vegetables ash content (%) varied from 6.05 – 13.52; moisture content (%): 6.68 – 18.39; crude protein (%): 9.29 – 44.39, crude fat (%): 0.65 – 1.148, crude fibre (%): 10.18 – 19.64, and carbohydrate (%): 33.43 – 76.11 respectively. The energy level of vegetables ranged from 291.78 – 351.59 Kcal with a good source of essential minerals. The total phenolic content of vegetables varied from 12.83 to 27.34 mg GAE/g extract. The highest antioxidant activity was observed in red cabbage with IC50 value of 68.33±0.31 µg/mL followed by carrot, broccoli and radish. Thus, vegetables are nutritionally rich in terms of fibre, protein, ash, mineral, antioxidants and phenolic content, which indicate the potential of these vegetables as a good source of nutrition.