Head space volatile constituents and antioxidant properties of five traditional Iranian wild edible plants grown in west of Iran

Abstract

This study determined the chemical composition of volatile components and antioxidant properties of <em>Allium jesdianum</em> (<em>AJ</em>), <em>Nasturtium officinalis</em> (<em>NO</em>), <em>Eremurus spectabilis</em> (<em>ES</em>), <em>Tragopogon graminifolium</em> (<em>TG</em>) and <em>Falcaria vulgaris</em> (<em>FV</em>) which grow in the west of Iran. Total phenol content, total flavonoid, free radical scavenging ability (by IC₅₀ value of DPPH test) and total antioxidant capacity were measured using Folin-Ciocalteu assay, aluminium chloride colorimetric assay, the DPPH and the phosphomolybdate method, respectively. The total antioxidant capacities of <em>AJ, NO, ES, TG</em>, and <em>FV</em> were 1.03±0.01, 1.39±0.09, 2.41±0.42, 0.79±0.08, and 1.20±0.13 (μmol ascorbic acid/gram of dry extract), respectively. Total flavonoid contents of <em>AJ, NO, ES, TG</em>, and <em>FV</em> were 21.55±1.22, 33.05±8.80, 18.32±2.30, 32.16±9.46 and 23.06±3.21 (mg quercetin/gram of dry extract), respectively. Total phenol content of the plant extracts ranged from 250.91 to 702.69 mg of gallic acid/gram of dry extract. <em>NO</em> has the highest DPPH scavenging activity with the lowest IC₅₀ value (1654.75±857.56 μg/mL of extract) and AJ has the lowest DPPH scavenging activity with the highest IC₅₀ value highest (8538.33±563.96 μg/mL). The investigated traditional Iranian edible plants are rich in different types of chemical compounds and are good available sources of natural antioxidant compounds.