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Antioxidant and phytochemical study on pengolaban (Litsea garciae), an edible underutilized fruit endemic to Borneo

Food Science and Biotechnology volume 22, pages 1–7 (2013)Cite this article

Abstract

Litsea garciae, known locally in Sabah, Malaysia as Pengolaban, is an underutilized edible fruit endemic to Borneo. This study was conducted to determine the antioxidant activity and total phenolic, total flavonoid, and total anthocyanin contents of different parts (i.e., flesh, stem cap, and seed) of the fruits. All samples were freezedried and extracted using 80% methanol and distilled water. For 80% methanol extract, stem cap of pengolaban displayed the highest free radical scavenging activity and ferric reducing activities as compared to other parts of the fruit. Total phenolic and total flavonoid content were highest in stem cap with the values of 8.29±0.70 mg gallic acid equivalents/g and 6.90±0.61 mg rutin equivalents/g, respectively. Total anthocyanin content was highest in flesh of the fruit with the value of 4.12±0.10 mg cyanidin-3-glucoside equivalents/100 g. The same trend of antioxidant and phytochemical content were also observed in the distilled water extract. These findings suggested that pengolaban has an acceptable high amount of phytochemicals which has a potential as natural antioxidant that can contribute to human health.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Phytochemistry and Phytomedicine, Institute for Tropical Biology and Conservation, Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Jalan UMS, 88400, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia

    Siti Hawa Ali Hassan & Mohd Fadzelly Abu Bakar

  2. School of Biomedical Sciences, University of Nottingham Medical School, Queen’s Medical Centre, Nottingham, NG7 2UH, UK

    Jeffrey R. Fry

Authors
  1. Siti Hawa Ali Hassan
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  2. Jeffrey R. Fry
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  3. Mohd Fadzelly Abu Bakar
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Correspondence to Mohd Fadzelly Abu Bakar.

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Hassan, S.H.A., Fry, J.R. & Bakar, M.F.A. Antioxidant and phytochemical study on pengolaban (Litsea garciae), an edible underutilized fruit endemic to Borneo. Food Sci Biotechnol 22, 1–7 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10068-013-0202-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10068-013-0202-x

Keywords

  • Litsea garciae
  • Pengolaban
  • antioxidant activity
  • phytochemical content