Detection of Quercetin, Kaempferol and High Value Amino Acids from Seed Endosperm of Nymphaea stellata cv. alba L.

Background: In this study, the seed endosperm of Nymphaea stellata cv. alba was subjected to quantitative estimation of various phyto-chemicals, as it is commonly consumed as a nontraditional, non-cereal food in rural India. Methods: AOAC techniques were used to determine the approximate composition. UHPLC amino acid and flavonoid analyzers are used to measure the amino acids and flavonoids in seed endosperm, respectively. Result: From standard analysis, it was evident that Nymphaea seed endosperm had 7.5±0.37% protein, 2.9±0.08% crude fiber and 1.8±0.21% total fat. The essential amino acids were determined in the seed endosperm by UHPLC method using pre-column derivatization method with o-phthalaldehyde- 2-mercaptoethanol.The results shown in the endosperm of Nymphaea stellata cv. alba produced the maximum amount of amino acids, aspartic acid (0.293 mg/g), glutamic acid (0.701 mg/g), serine (0.278 mg/g), histidine (0.116 mg/g), glycine (0.140 mg/g), threonine (0.149 mg/g) arginine (0.429 mg/g), alanine (0.239 mg/g), tyrosine (0.096 mg/g), cystine (0.424 mg/g), valine ( 0.50 mg/g), methionine (0.135 mg/g), phenylalanine (0.170 mg/g), isoleucine (0.339 mg/g) and leucine (0.34 mg/g). Furthermore, UHPLC chromatogram of quercetin and kaempferol in water lily seed endosperm revealed that the presence of quercetin 0.340 mg/kg and kaempferol 0.127 mg /kg as pure form without other derivatives of the two flavonoids like their glucoside compounds, esters, etc. The Nymphaea stellata cv. Alba seed endosperm has different beneficial composition including amino acids and flavonoids that may be of great importance to determine food quality as they helps in glucose metabolism and reduce oxidative stress caused by reactive oxygen species (ROS).