Phytochemical Screening, Proximate Analysis and in-vitro Antioxidant Activity of Amaranthus hypochondriacus Seeds

The present study aimed at evaluating the proximate composition, phytochemical screening and in-vitro antioxidant activity of Amaranthus hypochondriacus seeds. The seed powder of Amaranthus hypochondriacus was extracted in 50 % ethanol. The qualitative phytochemical screening revealed the presence of alkaloids, flavonoids, phenols, saponins, tannins, terpenoids, reducing sugars, protein, amino acids, fixed oil and fats. Quantitative phytochemical analysis for total phenol and flavonoid content in the dried extract was evaluated and expressed in terms of gallic acid and rutin equivalent, respectively and was found to be 2.49 mg gallic acid equivalent (GAE)/gm of dried extract for total phenol and 0.97 mg rutin equivalent (RE)/gm of dried extract for total flavonoid, respectively. Proximate analysis of seeds yielded a moisture content (8.74 %), ash (2.65 %), crude protein (13.67 %), crude fibre (6.73 %), fat (6.37 %) and carbohydrate (70.82 %), respectively. The antioxidant potential of the extract was investigated in terms of DPPH and ABTS radical scavenging activity and total antioxidant capacity, respectively. The DPPH and ABTS radical scavenging potential were expressed in terms of IC₅₀ and found to be 132.38µg/ml for DPPH and 159.32µg/ml for ABTS, respectively. The total antioxidant capacity calculated in terms of ascorbic acid equivalent was found to be 5.31 mg ascorbic acid equivalent (AAE) per gram of dried extract. Thus, from the present study it can be concluded that Amaranthus hypochondriacus hydroethanolic seed extract contains various phytoconstituents, including valuable amount of phenol and flavonoids, free radical scavenging potential that may be responsible for its antioxidant activity.