Solvent-Dependent Phytochemical and Antioxidant Profiles of Tamarindus indica L (Tamarind) pulp: A Comparative Study

Tamarindus indica L. (Tamarind) of family Fabaceae is an edible fruit native to Africa’s tropical regions. This study analysed the proximate content of tamarind fruit pulp as well as compared the phytochemical and antioxidant properties using three different solvents: lime juice, honey solution, and aqueous solution. Proximate content was assayed through protocols of AOAC while phytochemical and antioxidant analyses were carried out using standard methods. The percentage of proximate content varied with ash value (4.61±0.01), crude fibre (7.27±0.03), crude fat/lipid (3.83±0.02), crude protein (8.49±0.01) while the highest content was from crude carbohydrate at 78.21±0.02 %. In the qualitative phytochemical analysis, saponins, reducing sugar, terpenoids, cardiac glycosides, flavonoids steroids, and phenolic compounds were detected in all three samples while alkaloids, anthraquinones, tannins and triterpenoids were not detected. The highest concentration of reducing sugar at 255.89±0.13 mg/g was detected in honey extract while phenolic compounds were detected more in the aqueous extract. In the antioxidant assay, aqueous and lime juice extracts of the tamarind fruit pulp exhibited greater scavenging potential on DPPH at dose-dependent rates. This comparative study provides insights into solvent selection for extracting bioactive compounds from tamarind pulp, emphasizing lime juice and honey as promising options. Such findings are valuable for industries involved in tamarind processing for consumption and could contribute to developing more efficient and sustainable extraction methods.