Determination of selected phenolic compounds from Malaysian urban farmingcommunity

Urban farming in communities especially around the city has been highlighted by the Malaysia government under Under National Physical Plan Policy in order to promote food sovereignty by citizens. It is also a crucial strategy to support the agenda for national food security. The main objective of this study was to evaluate the scientific information on major phenolic compounds which include quercetin, protocatechuic acid, and gallic acid from existing vegetables in Malaysian urban farming communities. The collected vegetables consist of leafy and non-leafy types. The detection of the phenolic compounds was carried out using High-Performance Liquid Chromatography. Standard phenolic compounds were used as reference material to determine their content in the samples using the calibration curve method. Based on the data obtained, mostly all the collected vegetables from urban farming communities consist of the targeted major phenolic compounds. Leaf mustard possesses the highest content of quercetin, protocatechuic acid, and gallic acid recorded at values of 20.32, 19.60, and 78.23 µg/g, respectively compared to others. Pak choi possess the second highest content of quercetin with the value of 20.13 µg/g, while okra for total phenolic acids with value of 43.10 µg/g. Overall, from the data, it is suggested that leaf mustard could be an important vegetable to be planted under urban farming besides other types of vegetables.