Biophysicochemical and Antioxidant Properties of Cnidoscolus aconitifolius Leaves

Cnidoscolus aconitifolius (Chaya leaf or spinach tree) commonly found in West Africa especially Nigeria, was carefully investigated for its biophysicochemical properties, and in-vitro antioxidant potential. Well dried and pulverized sample of C. aconitifolius was assayed for its flavonoids, phenolics, alkaloids, nitrate, moisture, ash and crude content as well as peroxidase, superoxide dismutase (SOD) and its scavenging activity against 2,2-diphenyl-1-picryhydrazyl (DPPH) following the standard assay methodologies. The result showed that C. aconitifolius contains 79.12 ± 0.16% moisture content, 6.61 ± 0.27% ash and 13.35 ± 0.27% crude fiber. The result recorded flavonoid content, at 132.83±9.25 mg/100gQE, alkaloid (105.91±1.52 mg/100g), phenol (351.53±2.33 mg/100gCE), and nitrate concentration of 461.29 ± 5.83 mg/100g. The in-vitro antioxidant activity results revealed 0.442 ± 0.027 activity/min/unit/g for peroxidase, and 0.076 ± 0.004 units/g Units/g fresh weight for SOD. Meanwhile, the inhibitory concentration (IC50) value of the sample against DPPH activity was 12.95 as against 0.13 recorded by the standard (ascorbic acid), indicating that the sample has a lower DPPH scavenging potential when compared to ascorbic acid. In conclusion, these findings highlight the nutritional abundance and antioxidant properties of Cnidoscolus aconitifolius, indicating its potential health benefits especially in countering the deleterious actions of reactive nitrogen and oxygen species, however the antioxidant activity should be examined in-vivo. Also, the high moisture content is an indication that the sample requires effective storage mechanism to inhibit or lower microbial growth, which can reduce its shelf life.