Abstract:
Natural products play an important role, especially in the modern pharmaceutical
industry. Natural antioxidant consumption becomes a global trend due to its significant
therapeutic effect. As many studies reported that the most commonly used synthetic
antioxidants have adverse side effects like DNA damage, inflammation, skin damage,
allergies, carcinogenesis, etc. synthetic antioxidants were replaced with natural alternatives.
Therefore, the aim of the present study was to evaluate the in vitro antioxidant
activity and nutritional potential of Ceylon almond (Terminalia catappa) kernel. First,
chemical constituents of Ceylon almond kernels were cold extracted into ethanol. Then
α, α-diphenyl-β-picryl hydrazyl (DPPH) free radical scavenging activity, total phenolic
content (TPC) and total flavonoid content (TFC) of the ethanolic extract of Ceylon
almond kernel were determined by DPPH assay, Folin-Ciocalteau method, and AlCl3
colorimetric method respectively. Also, the powdered Ceylon almond kernels were used
to determine their nutritional profile, according to AOAC methods. IC50 value of DPPH
free radical scavenging activity of the ethanolic extract of Ceylon almond kernel was
found to be 21.68 ± 1.97 µg/mL and that of standard butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT)
was found to be 12.30 ± 0.79 µg/mL. TPC and TFC values of Ceylon almond ethanolic
extract were 20.52 ± 1.20 mg of gallic acid equivalent/g of the dry weight of the plant
extract and 3.92 ± 0.09 mg of quercetin equivalent/g of the dry weight of the plant
extract respectively. Results further revealed that Ceylon almond kernels are rich in
crude protein (24.9 ± 0.3%) and crude fat (43.1 ± 0.2%). It also contains carbohydrates
(11.2 ± 0.1%), crude fiber (9.8 ± 0.3%), moisture (6.5 ± 0.2%) and ash (4.5 ± 0.2% ). As
the Ceylon almond kernel contains health-promoting phytochemicals with antioxidant
activity, it could be used as an additive in natural antioxidant formulations and as an
economical source of nutrients.
