Antioxidant, tyrosinase and elastase inhibition activities of 10 vegetables cultivated in Nakhon Ratchasima Province

Abstract

The research objective was to screen total phenolic compounds, antioxidants, tyrosinase and elastase inhibition
activities of 10 indigenous vegetables in Nakhon Ratchasima province. The plants were Passiflora foetida Linn.,
Marsilea crenata Presl., Tiliacora triandra Diels., Hydrocotyle javanica Thunb., Piper sarmentosum Roxb., Leucaena
leucocephala (Lam.) de Wit., Polygonum odoratum Lour., Limnophila geoffrayi Bonati., Amaranthus gracilis Desf. and
Schinus terebinthifolius Raddi. Leaves were washed, dried and ground to fine powder. Maceration with 95% ethanol was conducted for the extraction. There were 4 experiments including analysis of phenolic compounds, antioxidant
activity and tyrosinase and elastase inhibition using Folin-Ciocalteu method, DPPH radical scavenging activity assay,
dopachrome method and spectrophotometric method, respectively. Total phenolic contents of crude extracts of all
indigenous vegetables ranged between 47.56 and 307.83 mg GAE/g DW. The highest total phenolic compounds were
found in leaf extract of Limnophila leucocephala (Lam.) de Wit. with 307.83±6.11 mg GAE/g DW. When analyzed for
antioxidant activity, the crude extract from Limnophila leucocephala (Lam.) de Wit. showed the highest antioxidant
activity, with 145.62±5.61 mg QAE/g DW, followed by Tiliacora triandra Diels. (123.51±5.57 mg QAE/g DW) and
Amaranthus gracilis Desf. (106.35±4.32 mg QAE/g DW), respectively. The best tyrosinase and elastase inhibitor
activities were found in Passiflora foetida Linn. leaf extract at 47.34±3.21% and 45.21±3.33%, respectively. This study
showed that the leaves of Limnophila leucocephala (Lam.) de Wit., Passiflora foetida Linn., Tiliacora triandra Diels. and
Amaranthus gracilis Desf. are rich in bioactive compounds. They could be developed as health and beauty products
ingredients in the future.