Nutritional Composition, Bioactive Compounds and Functional Evaluation of Various Parts of Cajanus cajan (L.) Millsp

Shu-Er Yang, Thuy-Lan Thi Vo, Chien-Lin Chen, Nae-Cherng Yang, Chen-I Chen and Tuzz-Ying Song
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Shu-Er Yang: Department of Beauty Science and Graduate Institute of Beauty Science Technology, Chienkuo Technology University, Changhua 515, Taiwan
Thuy-Lan Thi Vo: Department of Food Science and Biotechnology, Da-Yeh University, Changhua 515, Taiwan
Chien-Lin Chen: Department of Food Science and Biotechnology, Da-Yeh University, Changhua 515, Taiwan
Nae-Cherng Yang: Department of Nutrition, Chung Shan Medical University, Taichung 402, Taiwan
Chen-I Chen: Taitung District Agricultural Research and Extension Station, Council of Agriculture, Taitung 950, Taiwan
Tuzz-Ying Song: Department of Food Science and Biotechnology, Da-Yeh University, Changhua 515, Taiwan

Agriculture, 2020, vol. 10, issue 11, 1-13

Abstract: The pigeon pea ( Cajanus cajan (L.) Millsp.) is one of the major grain legume crops of the tropical world and recent evidence indicates that it possesses various health benefits. However, to the best of our knowledge, no comparison has been made on the nutritional composition and biological functions of its leaves, seeds, and roots. Therefore, the present study investigates which part of the C. cajan (L.) Millsp plant has the highest potential for development as a health food product. Results show that C. cajan (L.) Millsp roots (CCR) have a higher total polyphenol content (TPC) and total flavonoids flavonoid (TFC) contents than leaves and seeds. The antioxidant, anti-hyperglycemic, and anti-bacterial activities of CCR extracted with hot water (HWCR), 50% ethanol (EECR50), and 95% ethanol (EECR95) were determined. We found that EECR95 had the strongest antioxidant activity, as evaluated by 1,1-Diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl radical (DPPH) and 2,2′-azino-bis (3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS + ) scavenging, and reducing power. EECR95 exhibited higher anti-hyperglycemic ability (inhibition of α-glucosidase and α-amylase activities) and anti-glycation effects (IC 50 = 39, 120 and 229 μg/mL, respectively) than HWCR and EECR50. EECR95 also exhibited potent anti-bacterial activities on E. coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Porphyromonas gingivalis, and Streptococcus mutans , with minimum inhibitory concentrations of 113, 180, 16, and 100 μg/mL, respectively. Based on above results, we conclude that CCR has considerable potential for health food development and further studies of CCR in animals to confirm these biological effects and safety issues are warranted.

Keywords: Cajanus cajan (L.) Millsp; nutrition; antioxidant; hypoglycemic; anti-bacterial (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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