Nutritional and Antioxidant Properties of the Seeds of Vigna unguiculata subsp. sesquipedalis (L.) Verdc. – An Underutilized Legume of West Bengal

Abstract

The Exploration of the underutilized crops for nutritional benefits is one of the major strategies to feed the ever-increasing population. There are many nutritionally rich leguminous crops (Vigna unguiculata, Cassia hirsuta, Canavalia ensiformis, Dolichos biflorus, etc.) that have remained unexplored for a long time, though could provide a cheap and alternative food source. The present study was conducted to assess the nutritional and antioxidant properties of the seeds of an underutilized legume Vigna unguiculata subsp. sesquipedalis (L.) Verdc. The methanolic seed extract showed concentration-dependent radical scavenging activities against DPPH, ABTS, NO, OH and FRAP. The seed extract also showed the presence of nutritional and antioxidative phytochemicals viz. alkaloids, saponins, tannins, phenolics, flavonoids, ascorbic acid etc. The presence of a considerably high amount of protein and a low amount of total sugar can also be regarded as beneficial for regular consumption. Moreover, HPLC-MS analysis also revealed the presence of several phenolic derivatives (gallic acid, pyrogallol, chlorogenic acid, catechol etc.) that might also contribute to the antioxidative property of the seeds. Further research on the isolation, purification and characterization of the antioxidative phytocompounds would help decipher their mechanism of action as well as increase the sustainable utilization of the nutritionally rich legume crop.