Antioxidant activity and nutritional composition of snake fruit [Salacca zalacca (Gaert.)Voss]

Sitti Aralas (2010) Antioxidant activity and nutritional composition of snake fruit [Salacca zalacca (Gaert.)Voss]. Masters thesis, Universiti Malaysia Sabah.

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Abstract

Salak [Salacca zalacca (Gaert.) Voss] (synonym: Calamus zalacca) is a species of palm tree (family Arecaceae) which is native to Malaysia and Indonesia. Four different varieties of the fruit (Le. 551, 552, 553 and 554) have been established by Sabah Agriculture Department and are cultivated in snake fruit farms located in district of Sandakan, in the state of Sabah, Malaysia. The varieties have been categorized based on the differences of the characteristics of the fruit (i.e. colour, texture, size, aroma and shape). This study was conducted to investigate and compare the proximate composition, ascorbic acid, mineral content, total phenolic and total flavonoid contents in the edible portion of the fruits. Antioxidant properties were also determined using DPPH free radical scavenging and FRAP assay. The results showed the total phenolic content of the samples were in the range of 12.6 to 15.0 mg Gallic Acid Equivalent/gram and total flavonoid content with the values of 4.9 to 7.1 mg Catechin Equivalent/gram. The antioxidant activities of extracts using DPPH assay were moderately correlated with the total phenolic (r²=0.749 at p<0.01) and weakly correlated with flavonoid content (r²=0.345 at p<0.01) and almost no correlation with ascorbic acid content (r²=0.094 at p<0.01). The reducing capabilities of extracts using FRAP were weakly correlated with the total phenolic content (r=0.523 at p<0.01), flavonoid content (r=0.327 at p<0.01) and ascorbic acid content (r=0.513 at p<0.01). The high dietary fibre content of the fruit (2.52- 3.03%) and high carbohydrate content (16.65-18.79%), low calorie content (74-84 Kca/fg) makes the fruit ideal for high nutrition, low calorie food. The mineral content are high especially Ferum (3.5-5.4 mg/Kg), Magnesium (123-136 mg/Kg) and Potassium (2085-2297 mg/Kg). The nutritional properties, phytochemicals and antioxidant properties of S. zalacca are very high, indicating that the fruit possess very high health benefits when consumed and should make a potent source of antioxidant-rich nutraceutical.

Item Type: Thesis (Masters)
Keyword: Salacca zalacca, salak, antioxidant activity, phenolic content, nutraceutical, extract, DPPH, FRAP assay
Subjects: Q Science > QK Botany
Department: INSTITUTE > Institute for Tropical Biology and Conservation
Depositing User: SITI AZIZAH BINTI IDRIS -
Date Deposited: 23 Jun 2014 13:39
Last Modified: 30 Oct 2017 09:55
URI: https://eprints.ums.edu.my/id/eprint/9207

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