Biochemical analysis and evaluation of free radical scavenging activity of bitter gourd seeds' aqueous and ethanolic extracts: Comparative study

Abstract

Over the last few decades, seed research has shown significant enthusiasm, particularly in the food and herbal medicine sectors. But the majority of the time, the seeds of the vegetables are discarded as food waste, without knowing much about their potential as a source of bioactive compounds. Among the different medicinal plants, Momordica charantia Linn., belonging to the family Cucurbitaceae, natively known as Bitter gourd, has many biologically active chemical compounds. Therefore, our present study aims at the comparative phytochemical investigation with the analysis of antioxidant efficacy, nutrient composition, and proximate parameters of bitter gourd seed’s aqueous and ethanolic extracts. The results revealed that the ethanolic extract of bitter gourd seeds shows the highest amount of extractive value (66.22±2.78%) as well as total polyphenol (47.14±0.07 mg GAE/g of DT)), flavonoid (16.83±0.04 mg QE/g of DT), and tannin content (23.24±0.24 mg TA/g of DT). On the contrary, an aqueous extract shows the maximum amount of carbohydrate (68.56±0.09 mg GL/g of DT), along with in vitro antioxidant potential, i.e., inhibition percentage for DPPH (97.74±0.06%), for ABTS (98.09±0.16%). Depending on the overall results, including the proximate parameters, it can be stated that the seeds of bitter gourd can be utilized as a persuasive source of phytochemicals that can treat many oxidative stress-related disorders and may have some beneficial roles in pharmaceuticals as well.