7- Total Phenolic Content and Free Radical Scavenging Activity of the Ethanolic Extracts of the Seeds and Germinating Seeds of Several Fabaceae Plants

Abstract

Free radicals can easily create new connections with nearby molecules since they are molecules with unpaired electrons in their outermost orbital. Additional antioxidants are frequently required to stop the harmful effects of there free radicals, which can originate from food, pollution, and cell metabolism. Because of the safety reason, natural resources of antioxidant are preferable than chemicals. One of the substances with antioxidant activity which is found in many Fabaceae plants is phenolic compound. This study aims to determine the phenolic content and free radical scavenging activity of ethanolic extracts of seeds and germinated seeds of several Fabaceae, such as green beans, soybeans, and red beans. The extraction was performed by maceration with 70% ethanol. The Folin-Ciocalteau method was used for the total phenolic content analysis, while the DPPH method was used for the free radical scavenging activity analysis. The results of the total phenolic content analysis of seed and their sprouts showed that green beans contained the highest value (10.129 ppm and 15.985 ppm for seed and sprouts, respectively), whereas red beans contained the lowest one. The results of the free radical scavenging activity showed that red bean had the highest activity (384.3 ppm and 303.0 ppm for seed and sprouts, respectively), while the germinated seeds showed a higher activity than its seeds.